End of Innocence
by darkpower
Summary: From the Silver Project Saga. Rubeus did the unthinkable, & Serena loses all control. The Sailors must stop her before Rubeus uses her for his own gain. However, the world around them all keeps changing, and not for the better, making it all the harder.
1. Fallen Angel

THE END OF INNOCENCE  
CHAPTER 1  
Fallen Angel

Written by Darkpower  
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)

This is a part of the Silver Project Saga, and is the third story in a series that takes place following the events of Sailor Moon R. This story is a sequel to War Games, which succeeded Blinded By Revenge.

Confused yet? Hopefully not, but if you are, don't worry. You'll make sense of it as soon as you begin to read this, but please read those other two stories if you haven't yet, as they could make this make much more sense.

In case I forget to do so later on, thank you to Leigha Comer (youroctober) for the betaing of this and other fics in this saga.

* * *

Sailor Pluto stood firm near the marble doors. Those doors shone in a bright silver, and were twice as tall as she was with her raised heel boots on. There was nothing in front of the green-haired Sailor of time besides white clouds that made up the floor, and a hazy yellow hue that was too far in the distance for her to care about.

However, as she stared into the red jewel within the heart-shaped end of her Garnet Rod that she held tightly, she could sense that something very wrong had just occurred. A life had just been taken, and it was one that she didn't want to believe was lost.

"No, not Small Lady," the limber Pluto whimpered. "Anyone but her. Please tell me they were able to protect her."

As she waved the Garnet Rod in front of her, she could see nothing but black in a magical view area. It soon materialized further, into where Reenie was. Her pale body lay near where her final resting place could've been, and Pluto had to turn away from it. "Small Lady, why couldn't they protect you? What happened? Please tell me this is just a premonition." She looked once more to see a few workers do what they had to do to enclose the body, and that only made her turn back. "He killed you, didn't he, Small Lady?"

She pivoted on her heel and looked towards the Door of Time. "I could go into the past and keep you from dying, but I don't want to mess with anyone else's fate. It could also put even more people in danger. As much as I want to allow someone to do it, the risk is too great. I sense the Sailors know why I cannot allow them access to change Reenie's fate. There _has_ to be another way. The future is changing again. I can feel it. Serena is becoming more than corrupted. If this continues, the criminal side of her will soon come out. We cannot allow that to happen, and I feel that Rubeus will do all he can in order for Serena to become a criminal."

She waved the Rod again, making the view disappear. "But unless I find a way that we can bring Reenie back, Serena will never be able to stabilize herself. There's got to be a way, and it's up to me to find it."

**-xXXXXx-**

"Rubeus," a bright orange egg-like object roared to the tall king of the Dark Kingdom as he stood in front of it, "please inform me of what your intentions were last night."

Rubeus remembered not only what he had done, but also the fallout of what he had accomplished: a level six shot from the Hizrounswa Gun right at Reenie to kill her, all before Sailor Moon could react. It made Serena more unstable than she had ever been, and she came after him with a vengeance.

"I don't think killing Reenie did us any good with getting Melissa to come back to the Dark Kingdom. It only strengthened her position. I think we won the battles, but they've been winning the war so far."

"But you shot her without Melissa being there. That was your plan, wasn't it?"

"That was the original plan, yes! The more I thought of it, though, the more I had considered that as long as the person she wanted to protect was the one she couldn't, then she would want to come back out of guilt. I didn't think for a second that she would be that willing to help the Sailors."

"Actually, Rubeus, I believe I now know the reason why it would've failed in any case. It was because of an incident that happened to her a long time ago. Keishi's men blew up a school full of children, and she considered herself at fault."

"Who's Keishi?" Rubeus asked.

"A terrorist who lived near the North Pole. You see, Rubeus, attacking Reenie in the first place awakened that memory inside Beryl. That's what made her begin to defeat my influence on her."

"She thought of Reenie as one of the kids that died when the school went boom. Makes sense now. She also hates me, which makes her want to beat me, and then..."

"...she begins to doubt her position and what she stands for in the Dark Kingdom. I've seen it happen too many times. Which is why I knew we would've had to act fast."

"There might've been another development, though."

Metaria was all ears as another set of wide bubbles rose up from within the egg. "This is what I wanted to hear."

"Sailor Moon went off her rocker the second that I killed Reenie. I've never seen such a temper inside her before."

"Yes, Rubeus. I was wondering what the heat was that I was sensing when you went to Mount Akiha. I knew the Fire God was there, but that wasn't the raised temperature I was sensing from the area. It was figurative heat instead of the literal kind."

"I believe we could use that anger. Queen Beryl was always angry. Thus, she might not be willing to let it get in _her_ way. However, Sailor Moon, on the other hand..."

"_Might_," Metaria finished. "I see where you're going with this."

"If we can corrupt Sailor Moon enough to lure her here, then you can absorb _her_."

"And I will be free. Queen Beryl's energy would be enough for me to break out of here, but with Sailor Moon's life, I could make history with it."

"And her energy would be at its peak because of the anger she experienced. And you don't even need her to wear any stupid headpiece to get her at her worst."

"You've been successful lately with your plans, so I trust you to be able to make this work. You said they were winning the war, but the war is not over yet. _Far _from over!"

**-xXXXXx-**

Serena was sleeping at her small desk, though unable to have a comfortable rest. Her mind had been turning all night. There were no sweet dreams, but rather nightmares about what had happened the night before.

'"_"No, there's no way! You can't be...! Oh, my God, please, Reenie!"_"

""_SHUT UP! You DIE here! NOW! That was my own goddamn DAUGHTER! She's DEAD!"_"

""_Let me kill him, damn it! I wanna get that son of a bitch!"_"

The images of Reenie's dead body flooded her mind along with the evil perpetrator, Rubeus, who had done the deed. She was zoning in and out of sleep all night, and she looked over towards her clock as she opened up her eyes once more. '_Four thirty in the morning,_' she thought.

She rose to her feet long enough to walk to her bed and crawl into it. However, she stopped right next to it and looked out of her window. No one was in the street at this point, and she didn't even feel the least bit tired.

She slowly walked out of her room and down the steps. Right next to the coat rack was a small closet that held an array of other coats. She searched for something that she saw her mother wear only on certain occasions: a long trench coat that, once she put it on, came down to Serena's knees. She made sure she didn't wake anyone else up, eying her sleeping brother as she slipped her shoes on and went outside, quietly shutting the door.

**-xXXXXx-**

She walked slowly, and she didn't know where she would end up, but Serena kept walking, at some points even in the middle of the street. There were no cars on the road, thus, besides for the occasional vehicle that she moved out of the way of when she heard it, she had no worries about getting hit by any traffic. She went down alleys and side streets, trying to exert some of her energy, or at least get her mind off of the emotions she was feeling.

As she came across the loft where Darien lived, she entered it and rode the elevator up to his floor. She came to the door and knocked, though she did so two more times without an answer. '_Are you asleep or not here, Darien?_' She tried a fourth time, and when she still didn't get an answer, she finally gave up and hung her head as she walked back to the elevator. She tried not to think that he would answer while she was walking away like she saw in every romance movie she had ever seen. It never happened to her even once in her life, and it didn't happen on this morning, either.

She got back into the elevator, and was ready to hit the button to go back down to ground level. However, she looked at the buttons and instead decided to head up a few floors to the top level. As she exited the elevator car, she opened the door to the stairwell and headed up to the one place she also knew she could find some privacy: the roof. It was where she had been able to get away from the world following the incident in Antarctica, and she knew she would always have that option.

Or at least she thought she would have some privacy. She wished that she would've had it, though she did see someone she knew she trusted: Melissa Beryl.

"Melissa?" Serena said.

Melissa, who was looking down at the street from the balcony, heard that comforting voice. She knew that voice anywhere. "Princess Serena. What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. Couldn't sleep, either, could you?"

"No, I couldn't. Actually, yeah, I did for a few hours, but that was all I could get. It was the first time in a while that I couldn't get much sleep." Melissa looked towards her friend, who had approached the balcony beside her. "You going to be okay, Princess Serena? I know how you felt last night."

A heavy sigh came over Serena as she seemingly ignored the new way that Melissa was addressing her. "I don't know for sure. I was trying to see how Darien was feeling, but he probably was just asleep."

"No, he isn't here. I saw him at the hospital when I was heading here. I think he fell asleep there."

"Is he...?"

"I wish there was some way I could help him without making it seem as though I was trying to steal him away again."

"No, Melissa. You wouldn't be."

"But this whole experience just made me think about what's important to me right now. I know that some of your friends are still not willing to put their trust in me."

"I believe that's starting to waiver a bit. Luna and Raye are the only ones who have still expressed doubt."

"I talked to Luna yesterday before I was confronted by that coward, Rubeus." Melissa slammed her fist onto the metal railing. "God, Princess, I'm sorry I let that happen."

"It's not your fault, Melissa."

"But I can't help but think it is. I could've stopped Rubeus and cut him off when I first learned of his intentions to kill Reenie. I didn't have to allow him to find out who Metaria was, and I could've been stronger against her. Trust me, Princess, I've got a lot to make up for. All my life has been taken up by me having to make mistakes and trying to put right those mistakes. Nothing ever lets me just be happy."

"When you were a child?"

"I became an orphan at ten, as well as a queen. It still haunts me. I never got the chance to even say goodbye. Hell, I never got to attend their funeral to pay any respects. I just locked myself in my chamber for the longest time and told anyone that tried to reach out to go away and leave me alone."

"Do you want _me_ to leave you...?"

"Absolutely not, Princess. Please, don't go. I told you I was never allowed to just be happy. Some traumatic event always has to follow me, no matter what. I want my friends to be happy. I would love to see the day that I can just be proud to be who I am. I've been used, I've been tortured, and I was never allowed to live a normal life."

"I wish I could tell you what a normal life is like. I used to know, but now...Melissa, this is what I wanted. I was bored a few months ago. I wanted a chance to become Sailor Moon again. But look what happened from me wishing that. Rubeus harms my family, tortures my mother, teams up with Metaria, and has now killed Reenie. All by a man that we thought was dead. I should've made sure his sorry ass was dead before leaving that UFO."

Melissa laid a hand on Serena's shoulder. "Whatever you do, Princess, leave the anger to your friends. Darien can handle it better, Casto I know is your anger when you need to express it, and you know damn well _I_ can express it."

It was the first time Melissa saw Serena crack a smile since she took her on their shopping trip. "Yeah, I know that."

"We all love you, Serena. The reason why you're such an inspiration to all of us is your ability to find the good in everyone, and to never have a bad bone in your body. You have a heart the size of Japan. I could never see how you still have one with all the shit you've had to put up with, but I can see that you still have it. My heart's just beginning to open up, though I've been closed off for the longest time."

"You have a huge heart, too, Melissa. You need to realize that. But you also have a brave soul that will do anything for your friends."

"And fails at doing that."

"No, you haven't failed anyone."

"I know why I haven't paid my respects to my own family now, Princess," Melissa whimpered as she began to show tears. "I can't even face them with them knowing the things I've done. How can I face them when I've done everything to deface their legacy. Princess..."

Serena said no more as she wrapped her arms around Melissa. The two friends could do nothing else but cry out to each other within the embrace. They held onto each other tightly.

"Princess, please don't think you have to go through this alone," Melissa said through her sniffles.

"I won't leave you, Melissa. I don't want you to go back there."

"No, Princess. I would rather die than to go back to the Dark Kingdom."

The two couldn't stop crying, and neither of them felt the need nor the desire to stop.

**-xXXXXx-**

Serena and Melissa both, finally, were able to fall asleep. Though it was in a place that was new to Melissa—on the roof of the loft where they found each other—it was familiar to Serena. Melissa held Serena close to her as they slept with the sun beginning to bear down on them. The roar of cars couldn't even wake them.

Neither could the sudden appearance of Rubeus, suspended in mid air between that loft and another one. He could see the two friends cuddled together.

'_Aww, how cute,' _he thought. '_Serena and Melissa trust each other enough to know that they will be safe around one another. Neither of them knows I'm here, nor will they. Little do they know that I know where one of their best friends is, and I know I can kill him now._' He disappeared, leaving the two to sleep.

**-xXXXXx-**

It was eight in the morning, and Darien needed to get back to his apartment. Though he wanted to stay at the hospital as if Reenie would magically reawaken, he knew that was pointless, and he had to leave at some point to get away from the situation.

He hit a red light. That was the last thing he needed right now. To be stuck at one of the longest signal intervals in all of Japan. Did they really need to stick that thing right in his path? At least he could stop—which he did in more than one sense of the word—and get his bearings.

Luck intervened at that point, for better or worse, as in the other lane of traffic, right beside his car and to his left, was Patricia Haruna's car. It was somewhat beat up by the Youma Drillbit, but it was still useable.

He suddenly palmed his face. "Oh no, and Patricia's second day of hearing was today. Serena must be..."

"Darien?" he heard a familiar female voice say as he was continuing to wait on the long red signal to change.

"Patricia," he said as he rolled down his window, seeing the teacher. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Serena? She wasn't at the house today, and her mother said she didn't see her at all so far today." Patricia heard Darien sigh heavily. "Darien? What's wrong?"

The light finally turned green. "Patricia, I'll have to pull over here for a moment."

As he pulled into a parking space on the side of the road, with Patricia doing the same, Darien was able to tell her something that he knew she hadn't heard about yet as the two got out of their cars. "Patricia, Serena had a death in the family last night."

"Oh, my lord!" she gasped. "Who was it?"

"Name was Reenie," Darien answered as he felt a lump in his throat.

"Her cousin?"

Darien remembered about the first time Reenie visited their time, and the cover story that was supposed to hide the truth from those that shouldn't know. "Yes."

"What happened?"

Darien was surprised that Patricia was asking so many questions, but he trusted her. "She was murdered."

Patricia couldn't help spinning on her heel slightly from hearing about the cause of death. "Who would do such a thing to a kid?"

"Same person who has been after her family."

"Same person who was...my God!"

She remembered the man well, and Darien's reminder along with the sudden pain in her ribs only strengthened the memory.

""_The police can't do anything. Hell, if you've noticed, they didn't do anything when Sammy was assaulted, now __did they?"_"

""_H-How would you know that unless you...oh, my God!"_"

She felt another sharp pain as she could recall the hit by Hammerthor as if it happened yesterday. She didn't know who the man was, but she remembered the hits she had taken, and the taste of her own blood as she tried to keep it from choking her up.

"Patricia?"

"That was the same man who injured my ribs. He demanded some 'Silver Crystal' thing. I didn't know what he was talking about, but he wouldn't listen when I told him I didn't have it."

"Same man who murdered Reenie. Serena's taking this hard, though. All these attacks, and now he kills her..."

"I hope she's going to be okay. I haven't seen her around, either."

"I gotta get back home. You go on ahead to the hearing. You need to stay focused. I'm worried about Serena."

"Me too, and I'll get there as soon as I can." Patricia nodded before getting into her car and speeding off.

"Serena, where are you?"

Darien got into his car and began driving, though this time, he took whatever side street he could to get to his house to avoid the traffic that was beginning to add up for the morning commute. He tried to go as fast as he could, though he was still trying to be lawful about it.

He got to a rarely traveled street when he suddenly heard a gunshot from behind him. It was followed by a tire blowing, and his car began to spiral out of control. Another shot and another blown tire later, he collided with a brick building. His red sports car was totaled.

'_What now?_' He didn't have to think about it long, as just a second later, his door opened.

"Get the hell out!" he heard Rubeus scream as he was pulled out of the car and thrown into the street. "How do you like that, Tuxxy, huh? Where's your bitchy Sailor slut now, huh?"

Darien could not even react before he was hoisted to his feet and punched in the gut. As he staggered back, Rubeus aimed and fired a shot from the Hizrounswa Gun at him. The shot forced him to the ground again, though he braced against what felt like a combustion of his heart.

"That was only level four, you idiot! Do you want your death quick, or would you rather me take my time and have you enjoy your final moments?"

"You would only wish, Rubeus!" Darien screamed before kicking him in the stomach. He tried to get back to his feet, but Rubeus fired another shot directed at his leg. He gave the other leg a shot, as well.

"Do that again, Darien! I dare you to!"

"You're such a worthless coward, Rubeus! First you kill a kid, then you take cheap shots at those you know can fight you. You call yourself a Dark Kingdom king?"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it yet, Tuxxy. In case you weren't made aware of it yet, I continue to hold all the cards, and I know just when to deal them. As I told your bitch, I've been winning every battle lately, and from what I've seen, there's nothing you can," he shot Darien in the back with another level four bullet, "do about it! Your bitch ain't here, and that has to say something. She doesn't care about you, and neither will any of your..."

"Vulture! _Attack_!"

He turned around too late to see a shadow vulture as it hit him square in the chest. He lost his gun from the collision with the ground. Before he could react, he saw Sailor Vulture drop down, grab the gun, and aim it at him.

"How did you know where...?"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now, Rubeus!" Vulture trembled. "Or better yet," he picked up Rubeus by his hair, "tell me where my sister is! _NOW_!"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Casto?"

"_DON'T_ play games with me, _punk_! Unlike my sister, I know how to channel_ my _anger."

"Yeah, right!" Rubeus shot a beam from his hands at Casto's own. His wrist caught the beam, as he dropped Rubeus' gun and fell to one knee. Rubeus got back to his feet while giving Vulture a backhand to his jaw. He picked up his weapon and looked dead at his recovering enemy. "You know what? I think I've done what I came here to do. Though it would be an awesome pleasure to see your ass killed, too. You've done enough to me, but then again, I'm not done having my fun. I don't know where your dumbass sister is, but I do hope she's near, because I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees her boy toy close to death!" He disappeared as Vulture got back to his feet with a loud growl.

Vulture panted heavily in a fighting stance for a moment before turning to the ailing Darien, who was trying to get back to his feet. He scampered over and rested Darien's arm over his shoulders. "C'mon, man, let me help you."

"Thanks."

"How many times did he...?"

"Four or five, I don't remember exactly," Darien answered as Vulture was helping him back to the totaled vehicle. "Every part of my body feels like it could burst into flames at any moment." Darien got back into the driver's seat of his car and leaned back. "It feels like a gunshot wound, but no blood."

"You think you'll be okay, though?"

"That I don't know."

"What were you doing here to begin with?"

"Trying to get back home to find Serena. Where are the others?"

"Doing the same. Mother told me she hasn't seen her all day. I called the girls to try to find her. I tried calling Melissa, but she didn't answer. I think she's still asleep."

"At this time? I don't know about..."

The Vulture Communicator beeped a few times before Casto answered.

"Casto, did you try to call me?" asked Melissa on the other end.

"Melissa! Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you. Yeah, I did. I was trying to find Serena."

"She's with me on the roof of Darien's apartment building. She and I needed to talk, and we fell asleep up here."

"Serena's there?"

"Yes, bro, I'm here," he heard Serena blurt out. He saw Serena join Melissa on the screen.

"Thank God! I thought Rubeus had you."

"No. I'm sorry I worried you. I just needed some time to myself. I'm thankful Melissa was here, though."

"S-Serena?" Darien weakly said.

"Is that...Darien?"

"He sounds like hell," Melissa said.

"Rubeus got him," Casto answered.

**-xXXXXx-**

It was about an hour later, and thankfully, Ikuko was still able to drive Casto and Darien back to Darien's loft. At the front door, Serena and Melissa both awaited the two males' arrival, though with deep concerns for their friends.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ikuko asked as Casto helped Darien out of the car.

"He's tough," Casto answered. "He didn't go down without a fight, though I don't know how anyone could withstand an attack like that."

Serena gasped as she saw her boyfriend in shambles. "Oh, my God!" She rushed over and embraced her love softly, kissing him on the cheek before resting his other arm across her shoulder. "What the hell did he do to you?"

"Two shots to my torso, and one shot to each leg. I still can't walk."

"You're lucky to be alive right now, Darien," Melissa answered as she kept guard so the two siblings could help their friend back into the loft.

However, on the opposite end of the street, in an alley, Rubeus eyeballed the situation. "I can already sense it. The anger Serena has for what happened to her boy toy. But her lover is one thing." He looked to Casto, who nodded thanks to Melissa for holding the door open for him and Serena. "Her family has always been another. Yes, Casto, Darien got level four. You, however, will get level six, right where I got Reenie: in the heart."

**-xXXXXx-**

Back in the loft, Darien rested on his bed while Serena nursed the physical wounds he had from the punches Rubeus had administered. Serena cried all throughout trying to help him, and Casto could see her trying to keep from showing her frustration.

Melissa, though, was the first to slam her fist onto Darien's dresser.

"Melissa?" Casto asked, though he already knew why she had punched the inanimate object.

"Why Darien?" Melissa snarled. "He knows damn well Serena isn't the only one who would be pissed if he tried to kill him. Four shots with level four of that damned thing. How is he...?"

"You survived level five."

"I know I did, but the hell I felt because of it is something I would rather not feel. You should've felt what I did when I was standing on my feet back at the Shrine when I shielded Raye from the shot. I don't know, Casto. Reenie died instantly, and Darien is...ugh!" She turned on her heel towards the door. "But I was still standing at level five. Even when I protect people, I can't get away from the controversy my existence brings."

"Darien, I'm sorry," Serena cried.

"No, Serena, don't be," Darien answered as he wiped away Serena's tears.

Serena snatched his hand with her own and held on tightly. "This is not the way I wanted to spend more time with you. I want us to be happy, and every time we try..."

"No, Serena. Don't worry about it. Any time with you is time well spent. If I end up dying, I would love to see your angelic face..."

"Shut the hell up right now, Darien!" Melissa ordered. "I'm not about to hear anything about you dying, you hear me? You never talked like that, even when the Dark Kingdom corrupted you. I'm not about to have you give up now, especially around Princess Serena."

"Huh?" Casto hummed.

"What is it?"

"You called her Princess Serena."

"And...?"

"You never called her that before."

"After all she's done for me, she deserves it from me."

"No, I don't deserve it," Serena mumbled as she rose to her feet. "I don't deserve to be called a Sailor, let alone a princess."

"But you do, Serena. The only time when I began being happy was when I was with you."

"I don't, Melissa. I let all my friends and family down when they've needed me the most. I've let Darien down now, as well. I should've been there to help him."

"But Serena..."

"_But NOTHING, bro_!" Casto had to get out of the way from a chair that Serena kicked with all her strength. The chair toppled over from the force onto its side. "I'm tired of people taking advantage of me and my kindness to people! I'm tired of always being wrong and not being there when I'm needed! Darien's talking as if he's gonna die, and it's because I wasn't _there_!"

The hand motions were enough to cause Melissa to rush over and grip Serena tightly. "Enough, Princess!"

"Please stop calling me that, Melissa! I'm no princess. I'm a failure. A miserable, goddamn _FAILURE_!"

"_NO, YOU'RE NOT_!" Melissa screamed, and Darien could've sworn she only used that tone when she attacked the Moon Kingdom. "How many times did you stop me from using the Youma to conquer Earth, huh? I got so angry that no one could beat you, yet I was so proud of you that you did! I never thought of you as a coward. Not then, and sure as hell not now!"

"Melissa, you have no idea how tough it was for me to have to do that! And I let you down, too!"

"How could you ever do that?"

"Because, you sat there in that throne, waiting for someone to help you, and I instead hated you for what you did to Darien. It shouldn't be you asking me for forgiveness, but me asking _you_ for thinking that way about you. I could've saved you from Metaria back then, and I instead...please, I need some air." She forced her way past Melissa and slammed the door behind her.

"Serena!" Casto cried.

He was about to run after her when Melissa called out, "Casto!"

"What?"

"Not right now! Let her get it out the way she needs to."

"But my sis is...?"

"She's right, Casto," Darien agreed. "I've never seen Serena like that before."

"She isn't a failure, though," Melissa snarled. "It pissed me off to hear her say that."

"First time I've ever heard her mention that she felt guilty for what she had to do to you then."

"She's always been like that, Darien," Casto said. "Always finding the good in people and forcing them to bring it out to fight the evil in their hearts."

"It is true," Melissa added. "When she invited me to that shopping trip with her, it was the first time I ever felt wanted. I was...happy. I hadn't felt that emotion in such a long time before that. And I met Avery for the first time, and then from there, I met the sisters. Serena's done so much for me when I didn't deserve it, and _she's_ the one saying that _I_ have to forgive her?"

"I'm going after her, Melissa. I don't care what you say. Stay with Darien for right now. I know Serena trusts you, and so do I."

"Casto, you're making a mistake."

"She can bite, scratch, and claw me to death for all I care." He scurried out the door, despite Melissa trying to make one last arm extension to keep him from doing so.

"If anyone can calm her down, it's her bloodline," Darien said.

"Yeah," Melissa sighed.

Darien stared at her as she had her back turned to him with her head hung. There was silence for about ten seconds before he broke the ice. "It's a normal feeling."

"What is?"

"You care so much for them and want to be there for them, especially now."

"No, I could never accept this as normal."

"She's gone through the most difficult time in her life right now. She needs her friends now, more than ever."

"It's like I said before. I could've tried harder to keep you guys from going to the Hills."

"And you're telling Serena not to doubt herself, yet you do the same sometimes."

Melissa had to ponder that for a moment. "I'm sorry. I wish I could make some sense out of the feeling. I don't want her to doubt herself, but at the same time..."

"That's normal, too. We've all been through it."

As Melissa put the chair back on its four legs, she scooted it over towards Darien's bed and sat down. "It's different with me, though. I've not had the chance to feel these things in such a long time. I've always been the one who wasn't allowed to have any feelings besides hatred when someone failed in their plans. I had to get away from her watching over me to be able to cry or show any other emotion. I know you don't remember all of the time you were brainwashed by me, but you remember when you released that lake monster at the hot springs?"

"I think so, yes."

"When Sailor Moon cured her, you would think that I was angry about it, yeah?"

"I thought you were."

"I was pretty good at hiding my forbidden emotions from Metaria, but not then. I saw that in the crystal ball, and couldn't help but smile at her being set free. And I wondered if I could ever be like her one day: to finally have the chance to just be who I was without worrying about what anyone else thought of it. Of course, I couldn't admit that to anyone, and I was so lucky that Metaria was blind at that point."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yeah, Darien. Of course."

"I know you feel bad about the way you did it, but did you truly love me? You know, like..."

"Of course I did, Darien. I still do, actually."

"You...?"

Melissa left the chair and sat on both knees, clenching one of his hands. Unlike other times when she held that hand, he felt warmth. "Darien, I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not the same as before. I need you, yes. I need all the friends I've gained. But ever since I laid eyes on you, I knew you were a special kind of person that cared for those around him. Knowing that you were hurt today makes me sick to my stomach, and knowing that I was the one that separated you from her a year ago makes me ill every time I think about it. I want you to be happy, and personally," she sighed deeply, "I would do whatever it takes to make sure you and her keep your words to each other. Yes, Darien, I do love you. I always have, but...how can I put this..."

"It isn't a romantic kind of love. Platonic is what I think you mean. You have strong feelings for someone, but it's not sexual. I understand that."

"Do you mind if I feel that way about you?"

"Of course not. I'm happy that you view me in that..."

They were interrupted by loud screams outside. Melissa looked to the sliding door that led to the balcony. "What the hell?" She rose to her feet and walked out onto the balcony. Below, Casto and Serena were yelling at each other in a parking lot.

"Why can't you let me be angry for once, bro?" Serena yelled.

"Listen to you!" Casto ordered back. "I've never seen this out of you, and you know damn well that if it wasn't for people not caring about this place anymore, you would be stared at by everyone walking past."

"She was _my_ daughter, Casto! Why can't you understand that?"

"I do!"

"_NO, YOU DON'T_! I hate him, Casto! He hurt Sammy, he kidnapped my mother, he attacked my house ten times over, he's killed Reenie, and now he tries to kill Darien! How many more times can I let that man walk all over me?"

"I told you to let us handle the anger..."

"I don't _want_ you to handle it for me. I'm also sick to death of having everyone else be angry for me! No one ever sees this side of me!"

'_There's a reason for that, Princess Serena_,' Melissa thought as she continued to look on.

"But it isn't you, Serena!" Casto continued.

"Yes, it _is_! Any feeling I feel is mine. How can it _not_ be me?"

"Because..."

"Yeah, Casto! You don't know how to answer that!"

'_It's because you're too good to be like that,_' Melissa told herself. _'You can be angry without letting it control you._'

"Serena, I've felt it before. It's rage! I've told you that a long time ago! It's not anger anymore, and you're refusing to hear that."

"What if I _WANT_ that rage?"

'_No, Serena,_' Melissa thought once more. '_You don't want that. Listen to what you're saying.'_ She gripped the balcony railing tightly,

"What's going on out there, Melissa?" Darien asked.

"Serena's arguing with Casto over showing anger. Serena has it all wrong. It was the kind of anger that she's showing that made me fall for Metaria's tricks. She's making the same mistake I made...huh?"

"What's up?"

"Felt a vibe. Strong, and not a good one at that. Deathly near here."

"Rubeus wanting to finish the job on me?"

"It's the same vibe I get from Rubeus, yes, but more from..."

"From where?"

Melissa's eyes came wide open. "Outside!"

"You know what, Serena," Casto continued to argue. "You feel what you want!" He began to walk away.

"Casto, I'm not done talking to you!"

"But I am done talking to you if you're gonna keep ignoring me!"

"It's not me ignoring you, it's me..." Serena felt the same vibes Melissa did, but right behind her. "What the...?" She didn't turn her head even slightly around before she heard a loud shot fire. A beam streaked past her eyes.

"_CASTO, LOOK OUT_!"

Casto turned around, but it was too late. He turned enough to have the shot hit him right near the heart, and he flew past one car and crashed into the windshield of another. As glass shattered all over him, he rolled down the hood of the car and fell to the pavement, his head colliding hard upon impact. He wasn't moving after that, and not only were shards of glass stuck in his skin, but he had several scars and wounds from the collisions.

As soon as Melissa saw what happened, she was horrified. "_Oh, my God_!"

"What happened?" Darien panicked.

"Casto was..."

"What a shame," her and Serena both heard a familiar though sickening voice. "That was only level five." Rubeus appeared in front of Serena, though the very sight of him made Melissa's entire body tense up, as well. "I thought I set it to level six. No matter. I don't make the same mistake twice."

Inside the loft, Darien was trying to stand. "Melissa?"

"Casto, no!" Melissa said, frozen stiff in horror. She couldn't turn around yet to see Darien trying to walk again. "Please, God, no!" She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes. She pivoted around to finally see Darien standing. "No, Darien, you have to rest."

"They need me!"

"Not like you are right now, they don't! Lay down, _now_!"

Darien heard the fear in Melissa voice, and he knew from that alone how she felt. He slowly sat down on the bed. "What's going on?"

"Casto was shot by level five, in the heart!"

"Oh no."

"He isn't moving. So help me, _he isn't moving_!"

"Is he...?"

"Rubeus better hope and pray that he isn't!" She bolted out the door, and Darien could hear loud pounds from the elevator.

**-xXXXXx-**

"Trust me, Serena," Rubeus snickered as he paced slowly over to Casto's lifeless body, "I'm having loads of fun..."

Serena screamed out as she struck Rubeus in the mouth with a hard right, and then a left, then an uppercut that sent him into a lamp post. She followed up with a knee to his gut. "_YOU SICK BASTARD!"_

"I'll take that as a compliment," Rubeus smashed his gun into her throat, which made her choke as he smacked her with the gun again, this time in the face as she collapsed near a car. He charged at her and kicked her in the ribs. She rolled back, but rolled back to her feet.

"C'mon, Rubeus!" she growled. "You don't know how much I've ached for this fight!"

"Actually, Serena, I think I do!" He fired three straight shots from his gun at her. She dodge rolled each of the shots. When he fired the fourth, she slid over a car hood to the other side of it and ducked underneath. "You know you're just hiding from the truth, Serena!"

'_Keep talking, Rubeus._' She took a hand to her brooch.

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa was trying to hurry the elevator with whatever hand gestures she could, though she knew that was worthless.

'_Casto, please, whatever you do, don't die on me._'

She pulled out her communicator. The only bright spot of the day before was that she now had a way to instantly communicate with the Sailors if she needed it. No more trying to hurry and get to where they were to inform them of situations. They were dispatched back home to keep Darien's apartment from getting overcrowded. That, and it was tough on them as it was. If Rubeus was going to go after the others' families, as well, they needed to be protected somehow. Rubeus was here, though, and she knew that needed immediate attention.

She began to push buttons when she suddenly heard a soft voice call out, "Melissa!"

Melissa whipped around frantically. "Who's there?"

"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. Even if I wanted to, there would be no way for me to do so."

"Who is this?" Melissa asked, trying to find where the voice was coming from. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," the voice said, and it was followed by Melissa seeing a small magical screen appear in front of her. It showed a tall, elegant female in black boots, long emerald hair, and a rod at her side that was about as tall as she was. "My name's Sailor Pluto."

'_Wow. She's very pretty._' "S-Sailor Pluto? You're the woman that Nephlite was saying told him about the future."

"So you _were_ told? I was worried that he wouldn't."

"If you can see the future, though, you would've known that he did, right?"

"Actually," Pluto sighed, "I didn't tell him. I can't say who I helped tell him of the evil premonition that he saw. They didn't want me saying it yet, and they didn't want him telling you. They don't want Rubeus to know that their souls are still alive. I can see some of the future, though. I am the guardian of the Time Gate."

"I'm sorry, but you say 'of time'. I have no time. Casto is..."

"He's not dead, if that's what you're worried about. Not yet, anyway. He took a bad shot, but I didn't see it hit directly in his heart, thank God."

"You gotta let me save him, though!"

Pluto could hear the panic in Melissa's tone. "Don't worry. I froze time for you and me for just this moment. I don't have enough power from here to freeze it for long, and I'm not exactly allowed to, but you must hear me out."

This woman's voice alone told Melissa that she desired the same result as she did. "I'm listening."

"You must stop Serena!"

"_What_? Why should I stop her from killing Rubeus? In fact, I should _help _her screw his face up."

"As much as I should let you for what he did to Small Lady, we have a bigger problem."

"Small Lady? You mean Reenie?"

"She was the only friend I had here, and he took her away from..." She tried to hide her sadness.

"It's my fault, Pluto. I should've made..."

"No, please don't make any more excuses. I know you all did all you could do. Rubeus is just that sadistic and uncaring. But I'm not losing hope yet. There must be a way we can reverse history without me having to use the Time Gate. In any case, you need to stop Serena."

"You didn't tell me why yet."

"Like I said, I should let her. However, I think that's what Rubeus wants her to try to do. I've been sensing a side of her that destiny never let her show before."

"No, that word again. I hate that word."

"I know you do, Melissa. Casto never liked it, either."

"You seem to care about him a lot."

"I do," Pluto tightened her grip on her Garnet Rod. "But I can't do anything about him from my end. At least not yet. You must not allow Rubeus to kill him, too."

"You have my word, Pluto. But why Serena? I don't think she's even chosen her destiny yet. Why should I need to stop her?"

"Because what Rubeus is trying to do is to corrupt her. He's trying to make her embrace her corruption?"

"C-Corruption? That's the third time I've heard someone refer to the 'corruption'."

"It exists in a large variety of ways, and we've all been corrupted at some point or another. I will talk to you about it later, when we have more time. But I don't have much power left to continue this transmission. I will start time for you again, but trust me, you must make Serena realize that she should not use her anger the way she is right now. She needs to check on her brother, not fight Rubeus to the death. Make her realize that she doesn't have to fight her battles alone."

As Pluto disappeared, Melissa felt the elevator move once more. "Don't worry, Pluto. I won't let anyone hurt him. I do agree about Serena, though I still question why we shouldn't just let her kill Rubeus."

**-xXXXXx-**

Serena felt like she was in the middle of a gunfight. She was ducked underneath of a car, peeking back every so often as Rubeus tried to aim for her head every time she rose it up. All the while, she held onto her brooch. She risked letting everyone in on her secret by transforming this much in the open, though she didn't care about how badly she thought the police were needed right now when they were nowhere to be seen.

"C'mon, Serena. Let me see those pretty, hairy meatballs so I can get some target practice."

'_I'm not that damn stupid, Rubeus. All you have to do is keep thinking that you have a chance against me._'

Rubeus shot the car he knew Serena was ducking underneath, and Serena could feel the force from the hit rock the car against her back. "You know, Serena, I could keep shooting forever, and I won't even attract any attention. How many people in that loft do you think will actually try to call the police? Who will be there when I show your other friends what this little crystal can do, huh? I already got some of your little nerdy friends. I don't think I got enough of Molly just let. That hot little number is..."

"_Leave her alone_!" Serena screamed, her voice becoming scratchy. She also popped her head up, with made Rubeus grin as he pulled the trigger. She ducked underneath the car again, feeling the wind from the bullet go over her hair.

"That was level six, too, Serena! How much longer are you willing to defy me?"

'_I can't stay down here forever!_'

"How about I just come to you? I know you're debating with yourself over becoming Sailor Moon, and I could just out you right now to anyone who still cares."

Serena could hear the footsteps getting louder and louder. She could sense that danger was drawing near, though this is what she was hoping for as she took her brooch off of her chest and clenched it tightly. She grew a wide smirk as those footsteps came ever so close to her. '_Yes, Rubeus. Like I said: you haven't seen my darkest point yet._'

The second Rubeus turned the corner of the car, he immediately got tackled by Serena, but when he dropped to his back with Serena on top of him, he saw a silver flash in his eyes, followed by his chest feeling like it was going to explode in flames. The Silver Crystal was working overtime, only it was working against Rubeus. In fact, he was sure that, as he was feeling immense pain, Serena was trying to use the Silver Crystal to kill him.

"The hell?" Rubeus growled as he felt his anguish grow.

"I got you now, Rubeus!" Serena grinned as she shoved the Crystal right near his chest cavity. The magic was in fact making him nauseous. His eyes were becoming glazed over, and he could've sworn he saw a red hue in the magic that was being used against him. He couldn't move a muscle as he released his gun.

"Scream for me, Rubeus." Serena laughed seductively. "I want to hear you scream as loudly as I heard Reenie scream the night you took her life. _COME ON, you son of a bitch_! _SCREAM FOR ME_!"

"Ha ha," Rubeus chuckled, though he was struggling to do so. "You're as...sadistic as I...had always thought you...were."

"You haven't _seen_ me yet, Rubeus!"

Melissa had run out to the lot just as she saw Serena administer her magic on Rubeus. '_Oh, my God!_' She ran as fast as she could, but she stopped dead when she saw Casto's body at her feet. He was in the same position as when she saw him land on the pavement. Pluto had told her that he had survived, but seeing wasn't exactly believing for her. She didn't want to leave his body, and was torn over what was more important.

"Casto, I'm sorry, I'll be right back." Melissa made her promise before rushing towards Serena, who she could've sworn should have been foaming at the mouth given how sadistic the scene was becoming. Rubeus was growing pale. She had her orders from Pluto, and from Pluto's tone of voice, the situation Serena was now in was grim. Saving Serena from corruption was far more important than killing Rubeus, though Melissa questioned why she agreed with it.

"_SERENA, DON'T_!" Melissa screamed.

"Shut up, Melissa!" Serena cried. "He dies _now_!"

"You're letting your rage control you! Please, stop this! This isn't you!"

"_YES IT IS_! This is me! It's always been me!"

Melissa's lips curled in anger. She knew what she had to do. The images of her guilt about not trying hard enough to keep the Sailors from heading to the Tokyo Hills despite her better judgment crept back into her mind.

With a loud growl, she lunged herself at Serena, getting her off of Rubeus. As he clenched his chest, he didn't waste any time getting back his gun with a slight roll and using the strength he still had to teleport himself out of danger.

"_No, Melissa, get OFF of me_!"

"Not a chance, Se..."

Serena kicked Melissa hard in the gut, making her relinquish her pin on her. "You let him escape! You don't want him to die?"

"As much as I do, you're a basket case, Serena! You're even scaring me now!"

"Yeah, and where were you when Reenie died?"

"That isn't fair, Serena! You know as well as anyone where we were!"

"You just let him escape! He killed my daughter, and has walked all over me!"

"That's because that's what he wants you to do, Serena! Don't be so blind!"

"You don't understand this, Melissa! _NO ONE DOES_!"

Melissa also had to get over the screeches that she had heard from Serena. Not only had she not seen the Moon Princess act out of pure anger before, but she had never heard Serena yell as loudly and with as much hatred in her voice as she carried right now.

"Yes, I do, Princess Serena!"

"_STOP CALLING ME PRINCESS, DAMN IT_!"

"No, I will not! You're too pure, and too good, to let anything like this anger consume you! Listen to yourself!"

"_SHUT UP_! I _want_ it to control me! I want to _kill_ him! How many goddamned times do I have to say it? I'm tired of being taken advantage of by those who think I'm just this sweet girl! I'm so sick and_ tired _of it!"

Melissa could hear sobs fill Serena's voice. "But you're going to hurt yourself before anyone else!"

"_No, I am NOT_! _Go AWAY_!" Serena scampered off into the distance.

Melissa contemplated going after her, but she heard a voice that gave her a huge sigh of relief. "Let her go!"

"Casto?" Melissa turned and ran to help her friend. She knelt down to him as she supported his head. "You okay?"

"M-My body. It's...ugh, burning up!" He growled loudly in pain.

"Don't try to do too much. Let me help you."

"No, Melissa. I have to..."

"Shut up, Casto! Please, just..."

"Melissa?"

Casto could see her eyes shining as Melissa put an arm underneath his knees and lifted him up off the ground. Though he didn't say anything, he was dumbfounded at Melissa's strength and power to carry him back into the building.

**-xXXXXx-**

As Melissa exited the elevator, still with Casto in her arms, he tapped her on the shoulder. "Melissa, put me down, please."

"Not until we get back to Darien's loft."

"But you must..."

"I had to do this with a few soldiers of mine. Don't worry. I can handle it."

Melissa finally reached the door and kicked it lightly to knock. Now she did want Darien to be able to walk. It took a few moments, but the door finally swung open.

"M-Melissa," Darien said as his eyes came wide open at the sight of Melissa carrying Casto.

"Don't ask," she answered. "Can I lay him over there?"

"Yes, yes! Of course!"

Melissa got Casto to the couch that was in the middle of the living room and laid him down flat. She breathed another heavy sigh after she had done so.

"Did you really...?"

"Yes, Darien. A long time ago, one of my North Pole soldiers got shot. He couldn't walk, and the closest hospital was far away from the area where he was attacked. I took matters into my own hands and carried him two miles to the hospital. I couldn't stop because his leg, or maybe his life, hung in the balance."

"You must've really cared for your people if you were willing to do that."

"I was their queen. I couldn't just let him die. I didn't want that to happen."

"Why did he get shot?" Casto asked.

"It was a member of the same assholes who bombed the school."

"Bombed a school?"

"Shit! I forgot that I never told you about that. Maybe later, when we have more time, I'll tell you all about my time as the North Pole Queen. It's a far cry from what you know of me as the Dark Kingdom one." Melissa rose to her feet and took out her communicator.

"What are you doing, Melissa?"

She didn't answer Darien. She only pressed buttons and waited for someone to answer. She got Amy. "Hello? Melissa?"

"Where are the rest of the girls and the cats?"

"Luna is with Serena's family, Artemis is with Mina, and me and the others made sure our families were all right. What do you need?"

"For them to come to Darien's loft."

"All of us? Why not the Shrine?"

"Because we've got a Sailor down, and I don't want to risk his safety."

"A Sailor down?"

"Trust me, Amy, we need to talk. It's also about Serena. We really, _really_, need to talk."

**-xXXXXx-**

"Rubeus," Metaria began as her pupil was standing in front of her, "I saw what you were doing, though I was also horrified at what she did to you. Are you okay?"

Rubeus was on one knee, but was slowly recovering. "Yeah, I think I'll live, though my life was flashing before my eyes."

"We may have a break, though. Serena's actions caused panic amongst some of her friends."

"Tell me about it! I want to see this out of her because it'll do good for our plan, but the only problem is the risk it now carries."

"Yes! She is willing to kill you for anything. Rubeus, hear me! If anything were to happen to you..."

"Oh, no she won't, Metaria! She's going to learn firsthand that you don't mess with success."

"Success comes in more than one form, though, Rubeus. You may need to make sure that you choose your targets wisely. Those were two very interesting individuals that you chose to set your sights on. You did mention Molly and Melvin again, as well. Please caution yourself about going after them again. Not only will the Sailors know about you going after them, but there's also no guarantee that they won't be ready for it the second or third time around."

"Trust me, I've got a way to make sure the job is done."

"Rubeus," Metaria said. "I trust you."

"Good decision!"

**-xXXXXx-**

Patricia entered the School Authority hearing hall for the second time. However, this time, as she sat down at the table in the front of the hall, she only looked to her left. No one was sitting there, though she remembered Serena's promise the day before. Things had changed between then and now. She wasn't going to hold Serena to the promise given the circumstances she had heard. Still, Serena was her secret weapon, and she had to work twice as hard to convince the panel of eleven that she was a fit teacher. Her livelihood depended on if she could continue to teach. She was still clenching her ribs, sometimes to the point where she was worried that her injuries had become severe again. She couldn't waiver, however. They would not let her even if she decided to try to ask them for a recess.

The panel filed into the room, as the patrons and Patricia all stood in respect to the board. Patricia, however, felt as though they didn't deserve it. Did they really need to make it that much like a court case? They were panel members, not judges, though right now they were discreetly that: judges to the cause.

"Okay," the buff School Authority Head Roku Uematsu, the youngest of the panel, called out, "let's all be seated and we can come to order and get underway." Patricia sat down as Uematsu ran his fingers through his black, buzzed hair. "Patricia, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Today will be tough for you. I can see that Serena did not come with you today."

"She's had a rough night, sir," Patricia mentioned through the microphone.

"Rough night, you say?" Miss Hanoi, the gray haired woman with a perm that sat alongside Uematsu, answered. "Well, we can all see what that night probably consisted of. Lots of video games and that no-good racket that's been playing on USJapan FM recently."

"No, Miss Hanoi," Patricia fumed. "She had a death in the family. Someone she was really close to was murdered last night, and she doesn't know who did it. Maybe if you had more of a heart, you would know how she feels."

"Don't you dare start, Miss Haruna! May I remind you that you are under trial here, and any outburst you make will be considered in our final decision, as if there's any hope for you."

"While we do feel for her loss, Miss Haruna, let me..."

Uematsu was interrupted by a loud call from the back of the hall, "Sorry I'm late, sir." It was a tall man with salt and pepper hair coming to the front of the hall. "Traffic was backed up, as always. That, and there was some commotion at this loft. I couldn't even get past it. Seems there was some uproar people were watching. Some crazy stuff about magical crystals or some nonsense like that being used. Urban myths, if you ask me."

"No police were called, Harold Koa?"

"I don't think I have to tell you the answer to that. If they were, they took their good old time getting there. Glad they didn't, or else I would've been later for sure."

"Wait," Patricia interrupted. "Harold Koa! Why are you here?"

"I was asked to testify at the hearings today."

"Miss Haruna," Mister Koppa, the short and balding man who was also the eldest member of the panel, replied, "we asked some people who know of you and could tell us about your character to give us their thoughts on you."

"This is the guy that is going to take over for me if you fire me, though," Patricia cried.

"Oh, Patricia, I'm fair," Mister Koa answered. "I don't want to make you think I'm going to be coming here to make sure you're taken out of the school, though it would be a great pleasure to see that happen."

"Mister Koa," Hanoi said, "I thought you said you were going to bring a guest here today to testify on your behalf concerning Miss Haruna."

"That I have done. I thought it would be a good effect to bring her in just as you asked that. I always loved that effect in the movies." Koa walked back to the door and opened it slightly. "You can come in now, Miss Baker!"

The door was held open for a slim, red-headed woman to come in with Molly Baker, who pouted with her head downward. Molly was being almost dragged into the hall by her arm.

"Miss Baker?" Patricia gasped. "What in the world?"

"I cannot wait to hear this," Miss Hanoi responded.

"Yes, Miss Haruna," Harold smiled. "The Bakers have this story about how Molly only started improving once you left."

Patricia could feel part of her heart die.

* * *

Please review if possible. Good night and good luck.


	2. Ever Changing World

THE END OF INNOCENCE  
CHAPTER 2  
Ever Changing World

Written by Darkpower  
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)

* * *

The Tokyo Metro Police Department had several bureaus, and one of those stations was erected in Juuban a few years ago. The main headquarters of the Juuban branch was a two story stone building that rested in the heart of the downtown area. Consolidation definitely had its perks, but it also had its downfalls: the chief that had to travel great distances to get to each town. At least the precinct system worked, as the chief had several co-chiefs who could watch over each precinct, as was the case with this particular building. The parking lot for the cruisers was large and was encased in a chain-link fence; one had to buzz before it was opened.

Inside, the building had very few lights. It was just enough to let people see through the corridor of doorways and elevators to the second floor. At least the inside looked more current than the outside. Marble walls and doors, all cream colored and tiled to perfection, if there was a such thing for tile laying. The doors were made partially of steel and the rest of wood. That was a new technology that was put in place to make sure no one could shoot through the doors while normal patrons could open the door without having to put on a hundred pounds of muscle beforehand.

On the second floor, in a large chief office that housed several filing cabinets, two large windows with lowered blinds, and a large desk in the center and near the back of the room, someone was having their word with the chief.

"Tato Gumpi," the raspy chief, both tall and wide, said in a bold tone as he leaned forward from behind the desk, "are you going to stand here and tell me that we need to step up coverage when our funding is down for this quarter?"

The tall, short haired officer shook his head. "Funding is down? Is that your excuse now for not sending more officers out there?"

"Mister Gumpi, I will have you know that we here need to keep ourselves at a surplus until the district has enough money to pay the salaries of any new troops."

"Sir, they even want you to deploy the officers we already have to answer the numerous calls we've been getting lately. Stuff about cars zooming past at nearly a hundred miles an hour with people on top of them fighting each other." Gumpi began pacing around the room, the chief scanning his every movement with his eyes. "Or what about earlier today? We got several calls about two people screaming at each other before a one-sided gun fight broke out. What about the calls about monsters just roaming the streets doing what they want, or that two car pileup last night? We got calls up the ass, and yet, you didn't lift a damned finger."

"You know how much money it costs us to answer all of those calls? We can't be answering every single call about some urban myths. We get prank calls all the time."

"Okay, well, how about when someone called us about that kid getting beat up by that gang? If I hadn't catch wind of it, you would've never seen a soul from our department answering that one. That wasn't the 'urban myth' you're thinking about."

The chief rose to his feet. "You also know that we have those Sailor Soldiers or whatever they call themselves to fight whatever these things might be. I'm sure they can handle it."

"There you go again, sir. The Sailors! They took care of a skyscraper crystal in the middle of our city, so shouldn't they be able to take care of a burglar, or settle a domestic dispute call, or solve a murder mystery from one of our cold case files? You forget, sir, that these are girls who have done things we never could possibly imagine any of them being able to help us with. We ask them of a lot. Why is it that you expect them to do things we should be doing? We have to help_ them_ out, not the other way around."

"Why shouldn't we allow them to help us out?" the chief said as he sat back in his executive style chair.

"They_ are_, Chief! _Too_ much! That's the damn problem here! You're expecting them to be there every single moment of every single day when they have other things they need to be doing. We need to fight the crimes we know we can stop, while we let them take care of dark crystals in the middle of the city and monsters in the streets. They can't stop the monsters if they are taking care of whether man A hit woman B for us."

"There are no calls about that anymore."

"Because no one has bothered because they know no one will come to help them. They just let these idiots beat on them."

"But you just said we're getting calls left and right."

"About the monsters and gunfights!" Gumpi yelled. "We don't give a damn about them, apparently, so why should they care about calling us? In fact, in case you forgot to look out your windows, the entire city has done the same thing you've been doing: sitting on your ass and letting everyone else do the work they're not going to do anyway!"

The chief rocketed up once more, with his swivel chair slamming against the back wall. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me, Chief Yoka! Do yourself a favor and think about this city more than you do your ego, and we wouldn't even have this problem!"

"Get the hell out of my office!" the chief growled. "Consider yourself lucky that I don't demand your badge right now!"

Gumpi stared down this man who had slammed his fists down on the desk so hard that a few splinters came off of it, and contemplated continuing the argument. However, his next move was instead pivoting on the heel of his boot and storming out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The chief collapsed back into his chair a moment after Gumpi's exit.

As Gumpi made his way to the elevator, which was all the way at the other end of the hall, he ran into a man in a three piece suit, in a literal sense.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized as he saw that the man had dropped a manila packet from the small collision. He knelt down to pick it up for him.

"No, don't be. I was too much in a hurry," the man answered as he also began bending down for the package.

Gumpi was the first to pick up the envelope, though. He turned it over to give it back to the man in a formal fashion when he looked at the label on the front of it. It read "FUNDING STATEMENT".

"Sir, where were you going with this?"

"To Mister Yoka's office."

"Do you mind if I take a look at this for a moment?"

"That could be..."

Gumpi quickly ducked into a mop closet and shut the door—not before the other man was able to get with him—before opening up the envelope and surveying the contents closely.

"I don't think the chief is going to be too happy with you looking at..."

"Shut it, mister-?"

"Malari! Orno Malari, Juuban Treasurer."

"Okay, Mister Malari, you didn't know that I just did this, right?"

"No, but you know what's gonna happen if we get caught, don't you?" Malari ran his fingers nervously through his dirty blond hair, which reached his shoulders.

"Yes, sir, I know, and I don't really care." He continued to skim over the many documents that were contained in the envelope.

"He's expecting me, though. At any moment, he may come in here and..."

"That can't be possible," Gumpi interrupted. "How can our precinct not get that much in funds when officers have been getting laid off left and right? We should be up for this quarter, right?"

"Don't ask me."

"But you're the treasurer. You have the money trails on file somewhere, right?"

"I haven't had a reason to pay attention to most of them past needing to record them on files."

"Here," Gumpi said as he handed the resealed documents back to the tall man and fixed his black tie. "Go ahead and give this to him. You never bumped into me, okay?"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"The name is Tato Gumpi. I'm usually in the lounge downstairs if not on duty or on a call. Drop by later. I want to talk to you more."

"O-Of course, sir." Malari cleared his throat and ran his fingers again through his hair before scampering for his original destination.

"Doesn't seem like someone who would be fit for the job, if you ask me." Gumpi told himself. "I wonder if he knows what a money trail even _is_. Yoka, what are you doing to this district?" He left the mop closet and continued towards the elevator.

**-xXXXXx-**

Patricia's heart sank all the way to her toes. That's what it felt like, anyway. Mister Koa's movie-like reveal of Miss Baker was one thing. Even though she questioned why Baker would be on his side, it was what Baker was doing to her daughter while entering the School Authority Hall that made her gasp so hard that she had to clench her ribs once more.

'_M-Miss Baker,_' Patricia thought as she eyed the tense scene of Molly Baker being dragged by the arm by her own mother. '_What's the reason behind this?_'

"Mom, please," Molly pleaded, "you're hurting me."

"A lot more hurt will come to you if you don't pick up your feet and move."

"Should do as she says, Molly."

"Mister Koa," Patricia said, "what's the meaning behind this?"

"Oh, you mean having Miss Baker here?"

"Well, that too. But I meant having me see her drag her daughter around like that. I've never in my life seen her even need a reason to do that to her daughter."

"Maybe you should've been more of a teacher to her than you were," Miss Baker shouted.

"Miss Baker," Uematsu announced, "you shouldn't yell like that in these hearings. Please approach the front of the room if you want to make a statement."

"Gloria," Mister Koa whispered to Miss Baker, "I'll keep my eye on Molly for you. Go ahead, and I'll follow you."

"No, I think you should go first, since you can make the perfect introduction, and I want my daughter up there when I make my statement anyway."

"Miss Baker," Uematsu called out. "Do you have something you want to say?"

"She does," Mister Koa answered, "but before that, I want to make my own statement."

"If you may."

Mister Koa approached the wide open space between the panel bench and Patricia's table. "Sir, I know what you're thinking. Why did I invite Miss Baker here? Well, my friends, the answer is simple. This girl, Miss Baker's daughter, is one of the main reasons we are here today. You see, Molly's grades were improving, and then, they suddenly dropped. Now, why was that, you ask? What could be so catastrophic that her grades were to suddenly drop? Well, I would like to inform you, if I may, under oath, about _when_ this began. You see, I studied the grades of many of those students in Miss Haruna's classes, and the same result came to me. Patricia had something going on with those students, because I never saw any reason for the As and Bs."

"No, Harold, that isn't..."

"Be quiet, Patricia!" Hanoi screamed. "This is Harold's turn to speak. You've already spoken."

"He's..."

"I just said shut the hell up!"

Patricia, as much as she didn't understand why Hanoi was allowed to speak to her like that in such a formal gathering, did not say another word.

"Miss Haruna," Uematsu answered. "You will have your chance to respond after he is done giving his testimony. You may proceed, Harold."

"Actually, panel," Harold continued, "that interruption is exactly what we have come to expect out of Patricia. I've known her for several years, even though she hasn't known me for as many. I have known about her past actions at her town house home. All the wild parties at night, all the immature actions she interjects herself into. I know it all, and I also know something no one should take lightly. You parents have no idea what kind of bad influence this woman has on your children when they come out of school and see this woman flaunt that behavior. Their superior acting like a teenager and having these parties, where liquor is served to people who shouldn't have it. What is she teaching these children? I also wonder how her students with these high grades get them. She must still be off of a hangover and easily persuaded. You would think that they would just be doing well. But consider that Serena Sommers, one of these students who was just beginning to get high grades recently, was getting low grades and just barely passing. What do you think is the real reason for her sudden jump?

"I will tell you why. It is because she allows herself to be influenced by a new student known as Serena's brother, Casto. He has done his best to cause fights at school, and even in class. He is a troublemaker, and I have tried to get him expelled from school. However, my only recourse right now has been to get the students who need to do well away from the people who distract them."

"Harold," Uematsu said, "Casto has only been a student of this district for a month, and Serena's grades have been at question for a few months now, far before Casto entered this district. I need to ask how you explain that."

"I thought you would ask that, and the answer comes from the attitude I've seen from Serena, as well. I'm sure you have heard about a fight that almost broke out in front of the school some time ago. Serena was the instigator in that fight. I drove past the school when it happened, and though Casto was holding her back, you could tell he liked it. But that shows you that it's not just Casto, but Serena, as well. I can assure you that Haruna is easily persuaded to do what the students want her to do. You don't think Patricia could feel threatened by the combined forces of people like Serena and Casto? You're very lucky that I'm there. I'm not that easily persuaded. Miss Haruna has been all her life. I don't know about any of you here today, but I am convinced that Miss Haruna needs to be released from her contract immediately. Today, if at all possible. In fact, I think Miss Baker can vouch for that, as well. Gloria?"

Miss Baker stood up, her red locks flowing down as she made Molly rise. Molly had to use quick footwork to make sure she didn't fall from how fast she was being pulled.

'_This is child abuse, Gloria,_' Patricia thought. '_Do you not see that? What's gotten into you?_'

"She will tell you why Miss Haruna should be released, and I ask the panel to let her speak before Patricia, because Gloria's testimony is also a part of mine."

**-xXXXXx-**

The entire group of Sailors, minus Serena, was now in Darien's loft, with Darien and Melissa both tending to Casto. He was nearly paralyzed, and had been groaning and sometimes even screaming in pain continuously. Thankfully, he was sleeping now. Melissa hoped that Casto would feel better once he woke up.

"Is he gonna be...?" Luna began.

"I hope so," Melissa sobbed. "He got hit hard with the Hizrounswa and smashed a windshield. I don't know how he even survived that."

"He's a Sailor, all right," Raye answered. "He should be dead right now from such a hit."

"Where's Serena?" Artemis asked.

"I don't have a clue," Melissa answered. "That's why I called to begin with. I tried to calm her down, but it was futile. She's convinced that she wants the rage she gained when she saw Reenie killed. She wants Rubeus' blood, and isn't going to stop until she kills him."

"Never seen her act like that before," Lita said.

"Neither have I," Darien agreed. "That scared me."

"A lot of us have been scared by her recent behavior," Mina added. "The sudden rush in Egypt, the gun she pulled on Rubeus on the Hills, and now this."

"But why should we be stopping _her_?" Amy asked. "I've wondered that for some time now. I'm sure we've all wanted to see Rubeus die for some time. I'm not sure why we've been stopping her from showing that rage. Rubeus sure deserves it!"

"That's something else we need to discuss," Melissa answered. "Rubeus seems to want to take advantage of her not knowing how to control such anger. She's new to this, and Rubeus wants to do whatever he can to enrage her even more."

"How do you know that?" Artemis said as he jumped up onto the coffee table.

"On the way down to help Serena and Casto, I was contacted by Sailor Pluto." Melissa could hear the collective gasp of all the Sailors behind her. "Yes, I know. I wasn't expecting it, either. I don't know if she wants me to tell you that I was contacted by her. I think it's important enough, though. She told me that Rubeus is planning to 'corrupt' Serena for some reason. Those were her words, and it's the third time I've heard someone use that term to describe it. I've heard bits and pieces about what it is, but nothing on the full details."

"To corrupt her?" Luna panicked.

"Yeah. That's what Sailor Pluto called it."

"Did she appear in person to you or did you just hear her voice?"

"She stopped time and appeared to me in some magical portal to tell me these things."

"She's usually used the Luna-P Sphere to contact us, though," Raye stated. "Why such a different...oh, yeah. Luna-P was Reenie's way of contacting her, and we haven't seen that thing since..."

"Trust me, I can't make sense of it, either. She was also saying something about wanting to find a way to reverse history without using the Time Gate. She was devastated about Reenie's death. That elegance and beauty shouldn't hold so many tears. She looked as though she hasn't had a reason to smile in ages."

"Reversing history?" Amy asked. "She must be heartbroken if she's willing to alter the course of time against the wishes of Neo-Queen Serenity."

"I don't know the details about all of that, but she said that altering things now would jeopardize the course of a lot of things that we cannot afford to alter. She doesn't want to use the Time Gate, whatever that is, to change whatever she wants changed."

"I think she meant that she wants to find a way to..." Lita began.

"Yes, I think I know what you mean: resurrection. It's a dangerous proposition. We don't know what kind of effect it will have on those we do resurrect. Rubeus thought he was getting the side of me that destroyed the Moon Kingdom when he took us out of confinement, but he instead realized that it wasn't all just the evil side that made us. Plus..." Melissa sighed deeply.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"I know I shouldn't say this, because I know we all want to see her again, and I know how Pluto feels, but..." Melissa paused again.

"Just say it, Melissa," Artemis said. "You want us to trust you, but you don't trust us to handle whatever it is you need to say or do to let us put our trust in you."

"It's not that," Melissa said, "though you're right. I should trust you just as much as I'm asking all of you to trust me. It's that I don't want to think it myself, but I want to respect the wishes of the souls that have passed on."

"What do you mean?"

One more deep breath later, Melissa continued, "We don't know if Reenie _wants_ to be resurrected." She could see Darien's eyes close. "Reenie is not of the living anymore, but we don't know if her soul wishes to return."

"You don't know that for sure," Mina said. "Though none of us do. I don't believe Reenie would want anything to end like that. She was so proud of wanting to protect the people she cared about. She acted as though she knew she had too much to live for."

"Souls have an interesting way to make decisions, though. She's resting in peace now, as much as I don't know how anyone could in that morgue, living or dead. Maybe she wishes to remain there and not be bothered anymore."

"Why were you so afraid to say that, though?" Artemis questioned.

"All my life, the people around me have all died. Everyone who was ever close to me all had their lives taken too soon for me to comprehend why. And yet, I've respected their wishes to rest in peace. I wanted to have my parents back. There was a teacher that I loved who perished in a terrorist attack, and my Generals, who I myself was forced to put to action, all perished in one way or another, and on that occasion, I was sometimes the one to have to pull the damned trigger. Pandora hit me hard, Reenie's dead, and now I'm faced with Casto battling through his own pain."

"Casto was thinking the same thing of himself at one time," Darien admitted. "He thought that his presence caused bad luck for the rest of us. Don't you start thinking the same about yourself, Melissa."

"No, I don't want to think that. I'm just tired of all the people I love dying, and I want so badly for there to be a way to resurrect Reenie. I want to believe Pluto. But if that's something that Reenie wants, then we have no choice but to honor that." Melissa buried her head into the couch, near Casto's torso, and wept softly.

"Melissa," Luna said as she jumped up at Melissa's head and rubbed herself lovingly on her. "Let's right now worry about Serena's situation. We can discuss this whole thing with Reenie once we find out how to calm Serena down."

Melissa raised her head and stared at Luna's watery eyes. "Yeah, let's. She's another one who's been very close to me. I don't want her making the same mistakes I've made. I've lost so many. I don't want to lose her, too."

"You won't, Melissa," Raye said. "Serena is someone we all love. I would do anything for her, and I'm sure all of us would say the same thing."

"Yeah, Melissa," Mina added. "She's a great friend, an awesome sister to Casto, and she's like a sister to me."

Melissa looked around, seeing all of the Sailors either verbally or physically motioning their support for her. At least on this occasion, she knew she had all of their support. "Thanks. I do need help."

"I can come, too, Melissa," Darien said.

"No, I need someone to look after Casto. I'm not going to allow him to come. I want him to rest, and I need someone to make sure that Rubeus isn't going to come after him when we leave. He's had a nasty habit for doing that lately, and I do trust you to protect him."

"Why not you, though, Melissa?"

"If and when we find Serena, I want to talk or beat some damn sense into her."

"She seems to know all about how anger can get the best of you, Darien," Amy said. "She's the perfect one to get through to her."

Melissa rose to her feet. "We need to find her, though."

"She'd go back home to check on her family before anything else," Artemis concluded. "We should check there."

"What about that hearing?" Darien asked. "Patricia is there, and Serena did promise to be there today, though circumstances may make that a moot point now."

"I can check there," Melissa answered. "Luna, can you check her house?"

"Sure, but what is this plan about?"

"If we split up and check all the places where she would go first, then we can find her faster. Cover more ground quicker."

"I have to go back to the Shrine to check on my Grandpa, anyway," Raye said. "I can check there to see if she would've thought about going there to get some guidance."

"Molly would be a target, too," Amy added. "Maybe she went to make sure Molly was all right."

"Melvin was, too," Mina said. "I'll go and see if she thought about it."

"Shouldn't we stay together, though?" Lita asked. "What if _we're_ targets? He's already shown that he isn't afraid about harming any of us, and he's been more ruthless than ever. We should watch our backs, too."

"Yes, we should," Melissa answered. "This is the only way to make sure we can find Serena quickly. But if things should happen, we need to stay in touch. Track each other regularly to make sure no one suddenly got attacked. Darien should stay here, anyway, in case she comes back."

"Where else would she go besides those places, then?"

Melissa pondered for a moment. "The sisters."

"Huh?"

"The only other ones who Rubeus might try to attack. He's getting more daring lately."

"You mean Catsy and them."

"Exactly. They're close to your loft, and if he were to hurt them, so help me..."

"I can check there. I'll also try the arcade. It's on the way."

"Crap! I need to call Andrew and tell him what's going on. I forgot all about work today."

"I'll tell him, Melissa."

Melissa nodded to Lita. "Thanks. Remember, if anyone sees her or Rubeus, contact us right away. I know this is a dangerous act, but we have no other choice if we're going to find her." The others nodded as they scampered out the door. "Artemis!"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for setting me straight."

"No problem, Melissa. I guess it's tough going the other way, too. You fear if they trust you enough to be able to know when you have the best intentions in mind. Keep it up, Melissa. Not only are you a good person, but also a great leader. By the way, where would you like me to go?"

"Make sure everyone's safe. That, and look out for her wherever we might have not thought about yet. He's picking new targets. Maybe there's another one we don't know about."

Artemis nodded as he hurried off.

Melissa was going to do the same when Darien called her back. "Melissa, hold up a minute."

"What's up, Darien?"

Darien approached her, and when doing so, handed her a wad of money. "Here, this belongs to you!"

"But this was the money I gave you for those car repairs when I jumped..."

"I'm not going to need it now, anyway, as you have seen. I've got enough money right now, and I don't want you feeling as though you owe me anything."

"Yes, I do, Darien. I owe you so much. Too much to believe that I could ever repay you."

"Well, if you feel like that, there is one thing that could be considered a full payment: save Serena!"

"I will do that, Darien. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this all had to happen."

"Don't blame yourself. Like Artemis said, you know a lot about leadership. I'm surprised, even when I know you can be a good leader."

"I've forced people around too much before. I want to let people know that they can trust me to know what I'm doing now. That, and I love Serena. I've lost too many of my family and friends to let anything happen to anyone else. I sound selfish, but it's the truth."

"Selfishness is accepted when dealing with friends. It's what makes you human."

"Thanks, Darien. It's good to hear you tell me that."

"Keep the money, though. I don't need it."

"Okay, if you insist." The two embraced before Melissa exited the loft (not before stuffing the money in her pocket, however).

Darien looked to the still sleeping Casto. "Don't worry, Casto. We'll take care of your sister. You have my word on it."

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa scurried towards the steps when she encountered Luna waiting for the elevator.

"Luna," she asked, "why are you waiting here?"

"Everyone else used the steps. I pushed the button before thinking about using it. It would take too long going down there."

"But the elevator is..."

"Don't worry about it."

"How did you press...?"

"I'm a cat, Melissa."

Melissa had to shake her head for a moment, though it was with a small laugh. "Good answer."

The elevator arrived and opened, and the two hurried in as Melissa pressed the button for the ground level.

"Did I hear you right, you carried Casto all the way up there?"

"Yes, Luna. I've done that before a long time ago. It didn't bother me to do that for Casto."

"You have some strength. Not every day I see a female carry a male like that."

"No. It was just me wanting to help a friend."

"Like you're panicking about Serena?"

"Yes, I think you could call it that," Melissa answered with a deep sigh.

"Melissa, we know you are, and you should know that we are worried about her, too. But," Luna paused as she turned away.

"What's up?"

"Well, the normal Sailor rules had always depicted that if Serena was not able to assume the leader role, then me and Artemis would have to. Casto was a leader for a bit, but he's also been taken down."

"Then you should be..."

"Melissa, you've convinced me that you should be the leader right now. After what you shown up there, and how you conducted yourself when chasing Serena up and down the mountains, you seem to have a calm demeanor and are able to assess situations clearly. You're telling us that things are at least under control."

"Like hell I'm calm about things."

"But you're showing that we can trust you. And," the black feline stopped again, "you have mine now."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, took me a while, but I probably should've known from the start that you were for real. Even Raye was impressed that you took charge."

"Though Lita's right. It's risky to separate when Rubeus doesn't give a damn who it is he hurts to play these mind games with Serena."

"I know."

"That's why I was going to ask Artemis to go with you. I asked him to check where Rubeus might be, but..."

"No, I can handle things on my own, Melissa."

"Luna, you don't have any way to contact us."

"Reenie had a communicator, and if I'm correct, it should still be at the house. If Reenie left the brooch there, the communicator shouldn't be too far from where Ikuko found it."

"That's not what I meant. What if Rubeus attacks you on the way?"

"It'll be the worst mistake he's ever made."

"Luna!"

"Please trust me, Melissa. I'm asking you to please trust that I can handle myself. I know what Artemis was thinking, but I'm trying to tell you not to stop me from going, and please don't feel guilty about letting me go. It's my choice."

"I'll be tracking you closely, then. I do trust you. I don't trust that asshole, though. If you insist on doing it alone, at least let me do that much."

"Do what you must!"

As the elevator reached the ground floor and opened up, Luna rushed out, while Melissa stood at the elevator door. '_You're damn right I must, Luna. I'm not letting anyone go without making sure they are okay. I'm not losing anyone else to foolishness._' She whipped out her communicator and turned it on, showing a map of Juuban with all of her friends appearing as blips on her radar. "Trust me, Sailors. I'm not letting you die on me. Not now! Not ever!"

**-xXXXXx-**

The day was growing older, and Raye could tell that the seasons were changing. Not only was the day changing to night quicker, but also the cold wind was beginning to hit her face as she was racing to the Hikawa Shrine. Her sprints were getting more difficult to run, and unlike the last time she had to race to the Shrine, her breath was spent quicker. However, she braced the harsh conditions as she continued to run towards the Shrine.

When she finally got up the steps to the temple, though, she found it nearly empty, as always. Chad was already gone and probably home by now. She walked up and entered the temple.

She had one shoe off when she saw her grandfather enter the main room of the shrine. "Raye, what's going on? You look in a panic."

"Was Serena here?" Raye asked as she slowly removed her other shoe.

"No, not that I know of, unless she sneaked in while I wasn't looking or something. What's going on?"

"Me and my friends are trying to find Serena. We think she's in danger."

"She didn't come here, though I heard about what happened to her daughter. I hope he gets his!"

"Our main goal is to make sure Serena...wait, how do you know that it was her daughter?"

Grandpa hung his head. "It's nothing. I just took a guess."

"No, that wasn't a guess, Grandpa. How did you know that?"

Grandpa paused for a moment, and then raised his head to meet Raye's eyes. "It's the same reason why I knew about your other life."

"Other life?"

"You're the Sailor of Mars, aren't you?"

Raye took a few steps back. "You...know?"

"What, you don't think my psychic powers could see that? I've always known you were."

"When were you gonna tell me this, Grandpa?"

Grandpa's arms went limp. "I thought you already knew about my knowledge."

"No, I didn't! Who else knows that you know?"

"Melissa."

Raye shook her head. "How did you tell her? Why her and not me?"

"During the session the other day. She realized that I knew. She did ask me if I knew anything else about you other than what I told her. I think she realized it. I didn't tell her that I knew."

"Melissa, why didn't you...?"

"Don't blame her, Raye. I thought you knew, too, and so did she. It's not like anyone tried to hide it."

"It's okay, Grandpa. I don't. I just wish you would've trusted me better to know when to tell me these things."

"Raye," Grandpa began, coughing a few times. The coughing caught her attention, though he continued before she could say something, "whatever you may think of her, remember that she cares a lot for this world. She's been through so much, and has made mistakes that even the most careful person could make. She wants to make things right, and she needs the help of those who are willing to trust her to try. Grudges are not healthy to keep in. No matter what happens in the future, I want you to always," he coughed again, "remember that."

Though Raye took his words in, she had concern written on her face. "Grandpa, is there something else you're not telling me?"

"No. Your secret was the only thing."

"But those coughs you made while telling me that. They didn't sound healthy."

"I'm fine. Believe me, I'll be okay. I think I'm just catching a cold or something. It's getting to that season, after all."

"You should see a doctor."

Grandpa waved his hand. "No, don't bother. I don't want to go."

"You should."

"It's not the first time I caught a cold. Believe me, these coughs are nothing new." He coughed once more, this time with a wheeze at the tail of it. "See? It sounds like I'm coughing up a lung, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. Okay, Grandpa, but I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Go find your friend, Raye. And remember, one of my many wishes now is to see you and Melissa get along."

Raye nodded and began to leave. However, she was called back by Grandpa. "By the way." She stopped and looked back. "It's safe with me. I haven't told anyone yet, and I will never reveal it."

She smiled at him before continuing her trek.

Grandpa, however, coughed while clenching close to his heart after she left. "I'll be fine, Raye. No matter what happens to me, I'll always be happy. Happy that I had you as a granddaughter."

**-xXXXXx-**

Miss Baker had stood up and approached the center of the presentation area of the Authority Hall. Molly was at her side all the while, even during her approach, though she didn't want to be.

"Gloria," Koa began, "you have the floor."

"I'll allow this," Uematsu said, "but after this, I will allow Patricia to respond, as I had promised her before."

"Thank you, sir." Miss Baker eyed the crowd, with Patricia giving her a cold stare. "Miss Haruna, you of all people should not even be giving me that stare. You know as well as anyone else why Molly was failing. It was because of Casto. Why did you put him with her, huh? Why did you not tell me anything about how Melvin was ruining her studies? Why didn't you tell me about those times when she was more concerned about seducing him than getting good grades?"

'_The hell?_' Molly thought. '_Who told her I ever did that?_'

"I don't think you would ever have an answer to that. I know why, too. It's because you don't even have an answer to Serena. Ever since Molly's been around Serena, she's been nothing but a failure." The openness of her words sent a chill down Molly's spine. "It's a good thing Harold has been there for her. He's even visited my house to discuss my daughter's grades with me. That sudden slip is not a coincidence, Miss Haruna. How could you miss that? It was because of your inability to teach the classes you tell us you're _so_ qualified to teach. Please, Miss Haruna, for the sake of us all, resign and get the hell out of Juuban. No one wants you here. Thank you. C'mon, Molly."

"Can I say something, though?"

"Nope! Children should be seen, not heard."

"I have the right to..."

"Children don't have rights, Molly. C'mon, _now_!" She grabbed Molly's arm and dragged her back to the seat. "See, Patricia. This is what you've helped cause."

"I think I rest my case," Mister Koa said as he nodded and took his seat right behind Patricia.

"Okay, that was interesting. Pretty damning testimony, if I say so myself," Uematsu said. "However, Patricia, as promised, I will give you this chance to respond."

"This oughta be good," Harold snickered.

"Thank you," Patricia said as she stood up, ignoring Harold's under the breath remark. "Mister Koa is a liar if he really thinks that I would not care about someone's grades. As I have said previously, it is because Serena has been doing better that her grades have improved. She's been coming to school early, turning in all her homework on time, and has even gotten a high grade on at least two tests that I have given. I am not sure why you only focus on her grades from my class, and not the grades from other classes they attend. What about science, or math, or gymnastics, or some of the other classes that the school offers? Serena does very well in first aid, and she always has even when she hated school. Now the teacher of that class has stated that she could become a very good paramedic. The English I know can be crucial to her if she someday has to treat someone who only speaks English. I would be on her like nothing else, and she's expressed desire to try to get into that field. I would never cook the books on her grades because I want her and everyone else to succeed.

"I've never once seen any problem with Casto, at all. In fact, what Harold didn't see, or didn't care to notice or inform you of, about that fight was that I had broken it up before it got out of hand. I was able to see it, and diffuse the situation. The kids who were trying to instigate the fight have been known to have done that in the past. If I were able to give detentions for starting that fight, I would have. But of course, our hands are tied. As for the so-called wild parties, I wonder what he considers a wild party, and how he came to the conclusion that I would ever get drunk or anything like that. Yes, I don't like to live the strict life that some other teachers do. But why should that disqualify me?

"And to you, Miss Baker, what has gotten into you? I know you, and I know that you would never call your daughter a failure. Molly is far from it. She's one of the brighter students I've had. What I saw from you today was a legal form of child abuse."

"You _bitch_!" Miss Baker screamed. "Don't you _dare_..."

"Miss Baker!" Uematsu interrupted. "Let her talk."

"But she's..."

"I know, ma'am, but we promised her this time. Patricia, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to please make this as brief as possible, as we're running over today."

"Going over may be necessary for these kids. Gloria, I do not get the reason behind your sudden changed behavior. I want to know. You're wrong. Children _do_ have rights. They have a right to be safe, and the right to know that they will be protected by those that they should trust. Yes, I know that a parent shouldn't be a friend, but they shouldn't be an enemy, either. That is all."

"Thank you, Patricia. I'll give you more time tomorrow. I didn't know we were running out of time until just now. Forgive me. And Miss Baker, not only will you be reprimanded for your outburst today, but I do want to hear what your daughter has to say. If it's in regards to this case, we all have the right to hear it."

"She has nothing..."

"That's for us to decide, Miss Baker. This meeting is adjourned."

As the patrons and panel filed out, Hanoi rushed up to Uematsu. "Why are you being so nice to her?"

"I'm following procedure, Hanoi. The whole thing will just take longer if we allow ourselves to be so caught up with the rules. Trust me, things will be a lot smoother if we follow them." Uematsu exited the room after finishing up his answer.

'_That's going to ruin the plan, though_,' Hanoi thought. '_I promised Harold I would get a permanent job for him back. If it wasn't for Patricia, I would've still been able to teach instead of being on this shitty panel. If Molly speaks, though, we're done for._'

**-xXXXXx-**

The patrons were getting into their cars and driving away, with the sun setting brightly through the mountains onto the city hall steps, of which there were many before going onto the sidewalk. In the middle of the sea of humanity was Melissa, who was hoping that she could find Serena coming out. She did see Patricia, but no Serena beside her. '_Did she just come here alone and leave alone?_'

She tried to scan the crowd before heading down the steps. However, when she got near the bottom step, she felt herself lose her footing, She collided with another person as she fell to the ground. She didn't just trip over a step, but someone else's foot that was in the way. As she got back up, she saw nothing but salt and pepper hair in front of her.

"What the hell?" Melissa recognized the voice. It was the same person who she had collided with when rushing to Juuban Park to help Ikuko. She also remembered who the cafe cooks had said he was: Mister Koa, who had given her the same evil vibes she was feeling at this moment.

"Sorry, sir," she pleaded.

"Sorry isn't going to replace this suit that you..." Harold paused as he got back to his feet and eyed the woman who had knocked him over. "Wait, you're that same woman who ran into me near that cafe. I thought you learned your lesson, woman!"

"Wow!" Melissa exclaimed. "You're disrespectful, are you? In case you didn't notice, you walk weird. Your foot was the reason I slipped onto you."

"Yeah, and what if I was? Not like you can do anything about it, right?"

Melissa could see Patricia eyeballing this situation, and some of the patrons could also see what was going on and were starting to watch in curiosity. She didn't know if Patricia wanted her to knock this guy silly or just leave the situation be. "I've got more important things to worry about. Looking for someone who isn't here." Melissa saw her way past the patrons and began walking away.

"Harold," Miss Baker said as she rushed over to him, "why didn't you say something to that Melissa bitch?"

"That Melissa...?" Harold asked himself. "_That_ was the Melissa character you were telling me...?"

"Yeah! She had the gall to tell me I was a horrible mother."

Harold's eyes narrowed as he raced after her.

'_Oh, God!_' Molly thought. '_Just leave it alone!_'

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa turned down a side street when she heard that same guy's voice call out, "Melissa, hold up! We need to talk!"

"About what?" she answered as she stopped on a dime without turning around. She knew who he was, and she also knew she had no desire to talk to him.

"You're that Melissa woman that confronted Gloria Baker, aren't you?"

"Gloria Baker? You mean Molly's mother!"

"Yes. You've got some explaining to do, woman!"

"Woman? You need to be taught some people skills if you're going to keep calling me 'woman'."

"You need to be taught more than that, woman! And turn around when you are being talked to!"

At that moment, Melissa felt a pair of hands spinning her around to face this man who was talking as if he had a bone to pick with her. She could've killed him right then and there, and she eyed those very hands with nothing but evil. This was the worst time and the worst place for a man who had been accused of so much to be forceful with a woman who had so much to gain from teaching him a lesson. She knew she could, and she also knew that she wouldn't feel sorry for doing so.

"There, _now_ we're..."

"_Get_ your hands off of me!" Melissa growled as she slapped Harold's hands off of her. "You even _think _of grabbing me again, and you're gonna be teaching with no arms!"

"So that's a threat, huh? Like the one you gave to Miss Baker?"

"You can call it that, yes! I know who you are now, and the first mistake you made was putting those slimy hands on me!"

"You're the only slimy bitch I see! I don't want you anywhere close to me or my students. That's _my_ class, and it's _my_ rules!"

"Blow it out your ass, punk! I've got better things to do than to listen to some second rate teacher who has to use dirty tricks to get someone else's job. I hope you fall on your face for trying to rob Patricia of her job while she was on her death bed. You've got a lot to learn about compassion!"

'_Second rate?_' Harold thought as Melissa turned around and began to walk away. '_I'll show her second rate._'

He eyed the back of Melissa's neck, and he made absolutely sure no one was around before he sneaked up behind her. He balled up a fist and swung big for her spine.

However, mid-swing was all he got to. Koa immediately felt a crushing grip on his arm, and he saw cold eyes staring at him with a growl escaping the same woman he was just about to strike. Before he could blink again, his back collided with the ground as he was flipped over. He saw nothing but the darkening sky.

Melissa continued to stare at her would-be attacker, panting heavily and standing still. Her nose wrinkled from the anger she felt at that moment. She could hear the anguish that Harold felt, and it pleased her.

"You want to make enemies, Mister Koa," Melissa snarled. "You now _got_ one, _asshole_!" She walked away and left him for dead—or at least whoever found him first. '_And I hope someone saw that, too. You deserved it, you idiot._'

As she looked back, however, she saw Miss Baker run up to help him back up. "Harold, are you okay?"

'_Yeah, you dumb broad, why not help him?_' Melissa thought. '_You've pampered everything about him so far._'

"Yeah," Koa answered as he accepted the help back to his feet while dusting and straightening his clothes. "That Melissa witch just came out and attacked me. I never did a thing to her."

'_You're a poor liar,_' Melissa thought. She had also seen that Molly, who was still locked in Gloria's arms, had a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, she was going to take a cheap shot at me, too," Gloria answered. "I couldn't believe she was going to punch me in the mouth."

"She judo-flipped me because I told her not to come around me or my students anymore."

'_Of course. It would be too damn easy for Miss Baker to see right past that lie. Why in the hell should it be easy?_' She looked at Molly again, and then drew out her communicator. "Amy, it's Melissa!"

**-xXXXXx-**

Amy was looking all around Molly's house. The car was not there, and knowing of Molly's current situation was enough for Amy to suggest to herself that she wasn't at the house, and neither was Serena.

She was about to look through the windows when she heard her Mercomp beep. She heard Melissa on the other end. "Hey, Melissa!"

"Molly's here, near City Hall with her mother."

"At least she's safe."

"Define 'safe' for me, because I'm not sure if she's actually safer with Rubeus instead of her gullible-as-hell mother."

"Don't say that! You know she's..."

"Molly, wipe that smile off this instant. His predicament is not even remotely funny. That's another week of restriction." Melissa could be seen watching as Miss Baker was screaming at her daughter.

Amy could only shake her head. "Okay, maybe I can see why you would say that now."

"She didn't see Mister Koa trying to punch the back of my neck when my back was turned."

"My lord. Did he...?"

"Let's just say, he's lucky that arm's still attached to his body."

Amy let out a slight giggle. "Hopefully he's learned his lesson now, pardon the pun."

"No. He just lied about it after the dumbass mother helped him up. You heard what Molly thought about it."

"Well, at least we know Serena isn't here, either."

"Neither is she here," Melissa answered. "Did you hear from anyone else?"

"Lita already ruled out the sisters. She met Avery at the clothing store. They haven't seen her all day. Don't know if they know what happened to Reenie yet. Mina said Melvin's dad told her that Mel's still recovering from that attack the other day, but no sign of Serena."

"What about Raye?"

"She called me to tell me Serena wasn't there, either, but she was talking to her Grandpa. She thinks something's wrong with him."

"Gramps?" Melissa panicked. "I hope she's wrong."

"Me, too."

"I'm getting worried now. I didn't hear anything from Darien yet, nor Artemis."

"That would leave..."

"...Luna!"

"Wasn't she checking Serena's house?"

"I'll call you later, Amy! I'm headed there now, though it'll take me some time to get there. Have everyone else meet me there as fast as they can. I've got another bad feeling about this."

**-xXXXXx-**

"Don't worry, Melissa," Luna panted as she ran as fast as she could to Serena's house. "You're not the only one who loves that meatball head. It'll be on my conscious if I let anything happen to her."

She saw the lights on—which relieved her—and finally reached the end of her run, or what she thought was the end of it. Luckily, one of the windows was open. Just enough for her to squeeze in through and into the house. As she jumped down off of the kitchen counter, she saw Ikuko walk into the kitchen—and nearly on top of her. "Ikuko, watch it!"

"Huh?" Ikuko gasped. She hopped as she saw Luna at her feet. "Oh, sor—_Luna_? How did you get in...?"

"Through the window."

"So _that's_ where that breeze was coming from." Ikuko shut the cracked window that Luna just came in through. "I was wondering why I was feeling a chill. Perhaps it's also from what I've been going through lately."

"Did Serena come here?"

"No, and I'm really worried about her. I saw her room today. Her diary had so many things in it about her letting people down. I know I shouldn't have read it, but it was left wide open, and with places that were wrinkled."

"Letting people down?"

"Molly, Melvin, us, the Sailors, you, her brother. She said it was her fault that they have all suffered lately. She wrote so much, and I feel so bad. I want to help her, but..."

"...she's become a basket case."

"What do you mean?"

"We're trying to find her because we think Rubeus might be taking advantage of her anger."

"You mean the same behavior I saw out of her last night? Good lord!"

Luna shed a single tear. "If anything happened to her."

"What can I do to help?"

"If she comes back here, is there some way that you can have her stay here? We need to find a way to calm her down to understand the situation."

"I've never seen her like that before, though."

"Act like a parent or something. Ground her, and then give one of us a call. Did Reenie also leave her communicator here?"

"C-Comm...uni...?"

"It should've been next to the brooch. I know it'll be painful to go back in there, but you've got to be brave for us, okay?"

"Yes. Anything to help you out."

"Thank you. Please let them know immediately that I was here and I'm heading back to Darien's loft. Reenie's communicator buttons are all labeled, so you should know what key is for what right away."

"People seem to be surprised how tech-savvy I can be, so I can pick that up rather easily."

"I hope so," Luna answered boldly before going through the chimney and out of the house.

'_Rubeus, trying to go after my daughter again?_' Ikuko thought. She slowly walked up the steps and into the master bedroom. Kenji was sleeping quietly, and she walked over to her side of the bed and opened up the drawer of her wooden nightstand. She saw exactly what she was looking for.

'_I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anyone else harm my family ever again. It's time I take matters into my own hands_.' She reached her hands into the drawer and moved various papers around. '_Power comes with responsibility, right? I've never had a reason to use this power, but I know how to use it. I'm not afraid to, either._'

With a heavy sigh, Ikuko pulled out what she had seen: a Colt Anaconda with a full supply of .44 Magnums. She flipped open the chamber and loaded a bullet into each of the slots before locking the chamber back into the gun. '_I know you used my other one that I got from my father, Serena. I hope I don't have to show anyone that you're not the only one who knows how to use a gun._'

**-xXXXXx-**

Luna felt that her job was done, though she hung her head on the way back to Darien's loft. "Serena's not there. I haven't seen her anywhere on the way, and I'm sure someone would've seen her by now. I know she's usually hard to find, but she isn't _that_ hard to find."

She stopped as she eyed a dark nook within the bricks of an old abandoned building. It was just big enough that she could fit through, but small enough that she could have her privacy. She rushed to the nook, crawled inside of it, and let her tears show. Her head continued to hang as her tears dripped off of her face onto the dirt below.

"S-Serena," Luna whispered as she stayed in the recluse of the two story building, "I hope to God you're safe. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you. I know I'm your guardian, but I sometimes feel," she sobbed loudly, "that you're _my _guardian. I need you, Serena. I need your friendship. We all need you. We all feel so empty without you. And to think that you're just missing right now. If he got you..."

She continued to cry, though she began peeking her head out of the wall, looking around the barren side street she had turned on before she made her way into the nook.

What Luna didn't see, on the other side of the street and in the middle of a forested area was Rubeus, who kept himself hidden behind a huge oak tree right next to the street. "No damn way. That can't be that mutt all alone like that. They usually let her go alone? We'll see how many lives she has left." He smiled as he sneaked towards the exiting Luna, who turned in the opposite direction. "Oh, and this is just perfect. Just stop! Just once!"

Luna patted down the sidewalk for ten seconds before stopping. She had to get one more sniffle in before she continued. The pain she was feeling was taking its toll on her.

However, the second she stopped, Rubeus drew his Hizrounswa Gun. "Oh, you are making this way too easy." He set the gun's level and aimed for the feline.

Luna put a paw forward when her eyes came wide open. "What's that?"

Before she could even turn around, she was hit in her back by a direct shot. She flew across the street and into an alley, colliding with several trash cans and toppling them all over. She was buried in garbage and tin, and she could not move any inch of her body. She yelped continuously from the inflaming she felt within, and every time she tried to move something, not only did it feel as if her bones were broken, but that her body was on fire.

Rubeus appeared again, almost on top of Luna, and snickered wickedly. "So, the alley cat gets skinned. How appropriate that Serena's guardian needs saving now!" Luna tried to say something, but even speaking had become difficult. "That was level five, and you are almost dead as it is! I wonder what level six can do to a magical _cat_!" He set the gun's bar to the highest level and aimed directly at the nearly unconscious cat. "Your death will be on Serena's hands!"

The last thing Luna heard was the sound of a very loud bullet colliding.

* * *

Please review if possible. Good night and good luck.


	3. Within the Details

THE END OF INNOCENCE  
CHAPTER 3  
Within the Details

Written by Darkpower  
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)

* * *

The sound of the bullet was deafening, and it was something that Luna, who had been hit by what she was told was a level five Hizrounswa shot in the back by Rubeus, didn't want to hear as she laid in filth from the trash cans her body toppled from the hit. She didn't want to know if she was dead or not. She didn't even want to know what that level six shot hit. She closed her eyes, waiting for something—anything—to happen.

It was the last thing she heard. Or so she thought. The bullet gave her some shell shock, and it was the last thing she heard before a loud ringing sound went off, as if she was in dangerous proximity to an exploding grenade. It lasted for five seconds, though she wasn't counting. When she regained her senses, she heard fighting. Lots of it. Growling, also. That familiar growl was what made Luna open an eye, as tough as it was for her, and see that someone had made Rubeus miss Luna completely. It was a girl in red boots, and long pigtails.

"_STAY AWAY FROM LUNA_!"

That was a voice that Luna didn't know whether to be happy or worried to be hearing. It was Serena, no doubt, and she had transformed into Sailor Moon. Serena's screams were terrifying, as this was the first time Luna had ever heard such a roar come out of her friend's mouth.

"You think that mutt wants to stay with you?" she heard Rubeus ask.

'_A mutt is a dog, you doughnut,_' Luna thought as she tried to watch the scene.

"I will _not_ let you harm my friends!" Moon yelled.

Luna could see punches being thrown and magic being tossed. She wanted to watch, and she was trying to also move out of the filth that she was in. However, the pain and anguish were too great for her as her head collapsed.

**-xXXXXx-**

She woke up back in Serena's home, with Ikuko caring for her. She also saw her friends, minus Serena, looking down at her, with Melissa in front.

"You're finally awake," she heard Artemis say as he jumped up on the love seat and nudged her.

"O-Ow," she answered as she felt a sudden sting.

"Oh, sorry!"

"What did he hit you with?" Mina growled.

"L-Level five," she answered.

"Good God!" Melissa gasped.

"I-I'm sorry, Melissa. It..."

"No, Luna. At the very least save the apologies for when you get back your strength."

"How long was I...?" Though her vision was slowly recovering, she couldn't see the clock.

"Well," Ikuko said, "Amy said she found you at ten, and she thought you were out of it for a while. She brought you here, and it's now...woah! It's two thirty already? I'm actually up this late?"

"You were out of it for a good five or six hours," Lita added, "at _least_!"

"Rubeus is getting braver," Melissa proclaimed. "He's only tried to kill Luna one other time."

"When we first learned he had that damn thing, and it was only level three with the wave weapon."

"_Only_ level three?" Melissa sighed. "All levels of that thing are devastating."

"And you saved us, Melissa," Mina smiled.

"Yeah." Melissa walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Raye watched as she walked out of the room. '_Melissa? What's going on?_' She looked towards the others, who were still watching over Luna. She rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen, where she saw Melissa staring through the window at the sink. "Melissa?"

"What is it?"

She remembered that she had told Melissa she would try to make it work, but what she heard from her Grandpa earlier was too much for her to keep in. "Did you know that Grandpa knows I'm...?"

"I had a feeling he did, but I didn't know."

"Nothing in your meditation with him?"

"Not a thing in there. Why are you asking about this now?"

"He told me he did earlier when I checked on him at the Shrine. You didn't tell him, did...?"

Melissa lifted herself off of her hunched position and turned angrily towards Raye. "Why are you asking about this now, Raye? Luna's in there still wondering what the hell happened to her and how long she was in a coma, and the only thing you can do is to worry about if I told Gramps anything?"

"Why do you always call him Gramps? That's disrespectful to him!"

"Oh, here we go again! I thought you were going to make this..."

"Me too, until I heard about you possibly telling him I was Sailor Mars! How could you?"

"Because I _didn't_! Don't be so damn dense! That's what gets you into such trouble with people."

"Me? You're the one that destroyed the goddamned...!"

"_Stop it_! This is not the time or the place for you to get into it with me! I didn't tell him, and I didn't know that he knew, though I had my suspicions. If this is the only thing you care about at a time when your friend is on the couch in a shell of who she once was, then you have some problems that I can't help you with!"

"Then you didn't see Grand-_PA_ coughing and wheezing suddenly during your session, did you? _Did you_?"

The shock that Melissa showed was without a rival. "No! Is something wrong with Gramps?"

"You tell me, Melissa! And I thought I told you to stop...!"

"He doesn't mind it, he told me that himself! And is this you questioning my loyalty to this group again?"

"Yes, Melissa! You know it's hard for me to trust anyone, and you saved me, which was a step forward, but this was the step back I thought you would take!"

"You're not even listening to me, so why should I bother? You're sickening me with your timing to bring this up! Stop being so damn stubborn and look at yourself in the mirror! Maybe that will tell you about who you're being!" Without any other words, Melissa shoved Raye out of her way and exited the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Running...?"

"Raye, what's going on?" she heard Artemis ask behind her.

"Melissa didn't tell me that Grandpa knew I was Sailor Mars. Hell, she was the one who probably told him that!"

Artemis hung his head and shook it. "No, Raye, she didn't."

"How do _you_ know?"

"Because he's always known."

"What?"

"He knew before you even met Luna that you had a power hidden inside of you. He told us all the time about how he was proud of what you had become, and always mentioned your Sailor life. He knows about all of us."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"C'mon, Raye. You never were told about him knowing? I find that hard to believe that a year went past and you didn't know."

"He never told me about it."

"Because he didn't want to have to explain it to you. He knew how you would react, and he was apparently correct. Melissa is correct, too. You didn't have to even bring this up now. Luna needs all of us."

Raye closed her eyes as she also remembered the shock she had seen on Melissa face when she asked her about Grandpa's health. "God! I'm sorry, Melissa. I did it again! This time she fought back with her words."

"She cares about your Grandpa, too, Raye. I don't think she means any disrespect to him. Did you notice that Melissa was calling Serena _Princess_ Serena lately?"

"She has?"

"Because she thought Serena deserved the respect. I think 'Gramps' was her way of showing affection to him. But," Artemis turned his head slightly, "did you say he was coughing?"

"Yes. He was doing that a lot."

"He was a Rainbow Crystal carrier, but he isn't immortal."

"He said he was fine, and that it was just a cold coming on."

"Raye, don't worry too much about your actions. I know you weren't thinking right. None of us have since Reenie's death and Serena's disappearance."

"Artemis? Raye?" Lita called as she looked out towards the hallway. "Speaking of Serena...well, you should come and hear this."

**-xXXXXx-**

Melvin was sleeping soundly in his bed, though he grunted every time he turned. Even in his dreams, he could feel the pain that came from the scars he had suffered during the gang attack. He dreamed about being able to beat Yumee Machino, the spearhead of the gang, to a bloody pulp. He wished he was able to do such a thing, and he thought he was able to. He did tell Casto that he could fight, but just chose to be diplomatic rather than a fighter.

He also dreamed of pings hitting his bedroom window. As he turned one more time onto his left shoulder, he laid on his biggest scar which made him jolt his eyes open. It hurt him in the worst way when he touched the scar. He had to get over the anguish before he could realize that the pings were not in his dream. He heard another ping, and this time, he saw a small pebble accompanying it. '_Who the...?_'

He got out of his bed, staggering towards the window. When he did, he saw someone: a tall woman with purple hair, throwing another pebble at his window. He knew this person. The long slacks and boots of her special school uniform were enough to give it away.

"Melvin," she called out. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Melvin slid open the window. "Mai? Why are you here?"

"Please come out here. I need to speak to you."

"How do I know your gang isn't going to...?"

"They aren't with me. I don't want them around here. You can trust me. You don't have to get dressed, even. Just come to your front door. It's important."

Melvin pondered whether or not to heed her request. This was the girl who was in Yumee's gang that had assaulted him. However, she had stopped them from doing anymore than they already had. She visited him at the hospital, and tried as hard as she could to convince him and his father that she didn't approve of the beat down, though she had felt powerless to be able to force Yumee to stop. He felt cautious, though if she was lying about Yumee not being with her, then this would be his chance for revenge, though the numbers game could catch up to him. Yumee wouldn't be alone.

Against his better judgment, he sneakily walked down the steps, slipped on his shoes, and walked outside, where Mai was waiting.

"Can you close the door?" she asked. "I don't want him listening in."

He did as he was asked, though he looked around to see if Yumee was hiding anywhere in the bushes near the house.

"Don't worry, Melvin. I'm not here to hurt you. There's a reason why I came this late."

"What time is it?"

"Two thirty in the morning."

Melvin gasped. "Man! I'm awake now?"

"Yeah. But Melvin, I needed to talk to you in private, because I don't think I've made things right enough." She turned her back to him and looked towards the half moon that illuminated the sky. "I felt so powerless to stop him. I wanted to, but I was afraid he would sic his gang on me. I know I'm a part of it, but I'm going to let him know that I don't want to be his slave anymore."

"Mai?"

"My father won't try to tell these lazy ass cops to do anything about the crap that happens in this town, and as you can see, no one gave a damn about what happened to you. They even showed your face on that damned Cocilio News without any regard to your privacy."

"Your father is a...cop?"

"Yeah. I won't lie to you, Melvin. That was another reason why I made them stop. I told him what happened, and he didn't care. I yelled and cussed at him, and he didn't even lecture me. I didn't want to have to face my father knowing that the people I called my friends did that to you. I can't even look at you because I see so much hatred for me when I look into those eyes."

Melvin began getting choked up. "I don't hate you, Mai. I just don't know how much I can trust you yet."

"You can trust me, Mel." She looked back to him, trying to ignore her emotions. "I wanted to also give you something. I think you're gonna be needing this, but I wanted for this to perhaps be a peace offering."

She unbuttoned the top of her shirt and reached into it to pull out a small box that would usually hold a necklace. At least, it looked like a necklace case to Melvin. He couldn't afford new glasses after Yumee's gang broke his other ones. "Go ahead, Melvin."

He cautiously took the box, and looked for the opening with his blurry vision. He finally found what he was looking for, and cracked it open. It wasn't a necklace.

"Hold on, Melvin," Mai ordered softly. "I know you're having trouble seeing it clearly." She gripped the artifact and brought it up out of its box. "Here, hold your head still for a moment." She slid something onto the bridge of Melvin's nose. He knew now what they were.

"N-New glasses?" he said as he found his vision cleared from the pair of glasses. "Mai, you didn't have to...!"

"Yes, Melvin. I did! Though they are smaller lenses than your old ones, there is one feature I like about them. Well, above them darkening when you're in intense sunlight. I like them doubling as sunglasses, but that isn't what I like about them the most."

"What do you like about them, then?"

"Those old ones you had. I couldn't see your eyes. They were too thick. These ones are better, and you can still see your baby blue eyes. The only good thing that came out of that beating the other day was that I finally saw your eyes. They told me how much in pain you were, but they were also so...how can I put this so I don't sound heartless? Hmm! Oh, they looked handsome. Though these eyes I see now I like even better. Same person's eyes, but now they look happy."

"I-I am. Thank you, Mai. I don't have any words to..."

"Don't say any. It's the least I can do for you after what we put you through the other day. Though I do have to warn you that Yumee didn't like that I stopped him."

"Hmm?"

"He wants to do more to you. I'm trying to get him to cease, but he won't listen. Mokoto is the only reason why I'm still in that damn gang, and she's only in it because Yumee is beating her, too."

"That girl who spat on...?"

"She's so brainwashed by that piece of shit she calls a boyfriend. I need to make her see the light, but Yumee never likes it when someone quits his gang."

"You don't have to be a part of it!"

"I know. I don't want to be. Melvin, and I wish it were that easy. Mokoto has been my friend since we were kids. I met her before we got into kindergarten. I don't want to abandon her for anything, but it's becoming so hard for me to keep my promise to her."

"But the longer you stay in his gang, the longer you'll be dragged down with them."

"I know. That's what's making this decision so damn hard. That's why I came to meet you at such an ungodly hour of the night. I wanted to make sure you knew that he's going to be trying to find you, and drag the rest of us with him. I can't guarantee that I will be able to be friendly to you in front of him, so just be ready for it. But remember that if that happens, I'll do my best to keep out of it."

"He's not going to have another chance," Melvin growled.

"No, Melvin! I can hear the hatred in your voice already. Please, don't bring yourself down to our level. Just...stay away from him. I'll try to keep away from him, too, But no matter what, please don't seek revenge." Mai caressed Melvin's cheek. "It's not you, and I don't want to see him do anything else to you."

Melvin could only yawn, as he felt his eyes closing again. "I'm sorry. I'm getting tired again."

"It's okay. I must've woken you, and you needed the sleep. Hey, are you going to be testifying for Miss Haruna?"

"I don't know for sure. No one's told me anything."

"I'm going there tomorrow to tell the Board about Mister Koa not stopping us. I know Miss Haruna would have, and I love her to death. But I know there are some on the board who are out to get her, and I don't think it's right that they are allowed to decide her fate when they've made up their minds before they even have a trial. Anyway," Mai rubbed down Melvin's arm, "I'll let you get your sleep. I need to get some, too. I have a big day tomorrow if I'm to go to City Hall." She let a heavy sigh escape her. "Don't let Yumee get to you."

Melvin nodded as he walked into the house and locked the door.

'_You're such a sweet person, Mel. I wish you weren't taken, because I know a lot of girls that would love to have those eyes of yours, and that big heart you have. If you didn't have any girls coming after you, I would be the only one who wished that Molly didn't exist._'

She walked down the street and through an alley. '_He's right. I need to make a decision. I don't want them hurting him, and those idiots won't hesitate to do more to him. I didn't even tell him that Yumee said he wanted to see him dead. Mokoto, I hope you will see the light very soon, because I'm close to making the hardest decision I've had to make in my life. I can't stand this anymore, and if I have to cut you out of my life to escape this Hell, then I must do that._'

**-xXXXXx-**

It took Melissa thirty minutes to get back to her loft. When she finally returned, she slammed the door behind her and kicked her sofa.

"Damn it to hell! Raye, I don't want to think of you any less, but why pick _now_ to talk about Gramps?" She collapsed on the sofa she had kicked. "I hope that's not disrespectful, because I didn't mean it to. Why would he not tell me that if it was?"

She looked to the open bedroom door. She slowly stood up and walked into the room, where her parents' photo was still on the bed. She had kept it next to her heart throughout last night, and she needed to do so again tonight as she removed her shirt, revealing a purple bra underneath. She then sat down on the bed and removed one sock off her foot.

However, when she raised her other foot and removed the other sock, she felt something thick dig into her hip. It didn't hurt, but it annoyed her. That is, until she remembered what it was: the money Darien had returned to her. As she dropped her foot back onto the carpet, she reached into her jeans pocket and retrieved the wad of bills. As she eyed the paper, she remembered what had prompted her to want to give the money to him in the first place.

"_What's this for?"_ she remembered Darien asking her when she handed the money to him.

_"Money for the car repairs."_

"_What car re—oh, my God!"_

She remembered the screaming engine and the smell of burnt rubber as she jumped the chasm, and she knew that no one would believe it if she told them she had done it. It also reminded her about her snowmobile, and how she would get on her Arctic Cat and go all over D-Point with it. She wanted to ride it again—right now. She knew winter was coming, and there were many places in Japan where she could drive it the way she wanted.

Melissa looked at the bills carefully, remembering also what had happened some moments after. It was very fresh in everyone's minds. However, something that wasn't so fresh, and what she suddenly saw was two additional slips of paper folded up together right below the stack. They were obviously larger than the bills themselves, and they caught Melissa's attention, especially since the papers looked as if there were many words and pictures on them. She stood up and laid the bills on the dresser before unfolding the papers.

"These are the same things I saw in that cabin," Melissa told herself. "Though they look to be the original pages. Why would Darien give me these? Does he even know he _did_?"

She read the pages about the Hizrounswa once more, seeing the same thing she had when she read the copies in her cabin where Rubeus had held Ikuko. She read the originals just as carefully as she did the copies.

She looked on the back of the first page. It was about another crystal. It was topaz, from what she saw from the lone picture of the huge jewel. Probably worth a ton of money to whoever could've found something like that. She turned the page back around, then looked to page two about the Hizrounswa. She knew it was a cursed weapon, but for some reason, she found the color images more gruesome than their black and white counterparts.

Melissa read the last paragraph on page two. It was an uneventful paragraph, with only a small recap of the dangers of the crystal. Had nothing about the six sides and the powers of the crystal. There was some stuff about how the gods tried to challenge the powers of the crystal. However, what caught her attention was that the last sentence on the page trailed off without a period. It was as if the sentence wasn't done.

'_How was that so overlooked?_' she asked herself as she decided to turn the paper over, and that was when she saw what she believed from the very beginning. There was another whole page on the Hizrounswa.

"All that stuff on the crystal they were reading and they didn't even notice that there was a third page?"

She began to read the third page. There was another picture that caught her attention. It was of the gods using another crystal with the Hizrounswa, as if they were combining the powers of the two crystals.

She read further along, until she got to a point where she began reading extremely carefully. The more she read, the wider her eyes got.

"Oh, you've gotta be shittin' me!"

**-xXXXXx-**

A knock was heard on the door of the Sommers household, and Lita was more than surprised to see Melissa back at the house. "Something wrong?"

Melissa didn't say anything as she stormed through the door and into the living room. The girls were still in the room with Luna, and she didn't care what they were talking about. She noticed that Darien and Casto had also stopped by as she dropped the two pages on the coffee table. "How the hell could we have missed this?"

"Huh?" Mina said tiredly.

"There was a whole third page on the Hizrounswa! What the hell were we? Blind?"

"Melissa, don't start criticizing us!" Raye growled. "We looked at those two damn things all over. We didn't see a third page."

"That's because we've all had copies of the pages," Darien answered. "I gave the originals to her by accident, and I didn't notice that the article continued when I copied them. She has every right to criticize us."

"I know," Raye said as she sighed. "It's been very tough. I'm sorry, Melissa. I didn't mean to go off on you like that earlier, either. I know you don't mean any disrespect to him."

"Maybe you'll trust me better if I told you that we may be able to resurrect Reenie!"

The claim took everyone off guard, Luna especially as she suddenly shot up on all four legs. "What?" Luna collapsed in pain.

"You can't be serious!" Mina added. "What makes you think that?"

"The third page of the article."

After Melissa answered, Casto grabbed the page and skimmed it, seeing the same picture she had earlier. He began reading, "Although the Hizrounswa was viewed to be an evil crystal, it was said that the creators were careful not to make the effects completely irreversible. For that, there is an even larger rumor that the crystal has a programmed safeguard in place in case the demons who forged the crystal found it used on one of their own."

"A safeguard?" Amy asked. "You mean they were thinking things through? I was wondering what they planned if something went wrong like that."

"The problem was that in order to use the safeguard method," Casto continued reading, "another crystal of the opposing element that can equal the power of the Hizrounswa must also be used, making such a safeguard hard to accomplish."

"They didn't want it to be easy on anyone," Raye mentioned. "They would have to find a holy crystal, be able to handle both the crystals, and be sure that it would work."

Casto kept his eyes on the page he was reading. "The crystal's power would have to be used directly onto the pure Hizrounswa crystal."

"Pure Hizrounswa crystal?" Lita asked. "What do they mean by that?"

"Don't know for sure," Casto answered as he took his eyes off the page for a moment.

"Rubeus has it in that gun he keeps using," Melissa said. "I think they mean that it has to be on the actual crystal. We have to get it out of that gun before we can even think about this method."

"According to this, we would fire the holy crystal's power into the Hizrounswa, and then what the Hizrounswa's shots would normally do would actually work in reverse, and in turn..."

"Bring the person back to life. But there's a catch."

"Catch?" Luna weakly said.

Casto hummed as he looked once more at the third page. "Yes, there is. It says that the person we want to resurrect has to have been shot by the Hizrounswa. Nothing about any time limit, thank God."

"Not that huge of one," Raye answered.

"And that's what Reenie was," Melissa added. "There was no doubt that she was shot by that thing."

"We would have to get the Hizrounswa first," Darien chimed in. "No easy task since we know who has it and who's been using it a hell of a lot."

"The Silver Crystal would be perfect for something like this. I can't think of any more powerful crystal of the element we need."

"Look who has it, though, Melissa," Raye sighed.

It was a sigh that Melissa noticed. "Yeah, tell me about it. It's going to be one hell of a tough deal when the person who has it is someone we can't even find."

"Actually," Mina interjected, "that's something that Luna told us about when you left, Melissa."

"Y-Yeah," Luna answered while still in pain. "I could've sworn I saw Sailor Moon fight Rubeus, but I'm not sure what happened after I passed out."

"She must've chased Rubeus away," Amy said. "She's probably still chasing him, and we're all worried that she's going to be chasing him to the ends of the Earth."

"So how do we get to her?" Raye asked. "We couldn't find her when split up. How else are we...?"

"Wait," Casto interrupted. "Amy, you said she's probably going to be chasing Rubeus until she or him dies, right?"

"Yes. That doesn't sit right with me, but I think she would with hearing about all this anger she has."

"Maybe we're thinking about this all wrong."

"Cas?" Melissa said. "Where are you getting at?"

"If Serena is going to chase Rubeus, and we need the Hizrounswa, too, why don't we try to make _him_ come to_ us_?"

"I don't know if that's wise, given the way he's been so accurate, though, Casto," Darien objected.

"No, Darien," Melissa intervened. "I know where Casto's getting at. Rubeus wants to make Serena even angrier, he's going to be coming after her friends, and he's been getting pretty damn brave lately, so he's going to be coming after us."

"Yes, Melissa," Casto agreed. "We give him a reason to want to come after us, and instead of him getting the upper hand, we get _him_ to bite. This time, we'll _want_ him to come after us with that gun."

"If he finds out what we're doing, though, he's not going to just let us do it."

"Right, Darien. That's why someone needs to make sure he's focused on the person drawing his attention. No matter what, he needs to stay focused on whoever is the puller, so to speak."

"But hold on," Raye interrupted. "Where does Serena come into this?"

"If she sees the bait being attacked," Melissa answered, "and if she's chasing Rubeus the way we think she is, then she will come with him to commit to another battle. That will surely distract him because she'll be all over him like hyenas on raw hamburger."

"Wait, I get what you're saying now," Lita hummed. "Rubeus will want to come after our bait because he's trying to inflame Serena's temper more, while we wait to strike."

Mina nodded with a wide smirk. "Then, with any luck, Serena will show up to fight him, and we got both of them."

"Well," Casto said, "let's worry about getting the Hizrounswa out of Rubeus's hands first, then we'll try to tell Serena about this new discovery."

After listening in to the entire conversation and reading over all of the papers immensely, Artemis sighed greatly. "We may not have too much time once Rubeus sees the bait to act. We won't know how far away Serena will be from Rubeus when he begins taking it. He may not fall for it at all, or realize it too early. This is a huge risk."

"Will be one we'll have to take. We've got no other choice. I can't believe we missed this huge development. Melissa is correct in questioning us. I want to know how we missed this, too."

"Probably never read that far into it," Amy answered. "People do that all the time. Remember, too, what situation we were in when we first learned about this crystal."

"I had the original pages all this time, though, Amy," Darien said. "I don't know how I could've missed that. I should've looked through them more."

"We should've seen this," Lita concluded, "but the thing is that we know_ now _that there is a way we can get Reenie back and end all of this."

"Not all that easy, though. Remember that we have to get the Hizrounswa from Rubeus, and Serena needs to cooperate long enough for us to tell her that we can get Reenie back. It's no guarantee that anything will work out in our favor. Remember, too, that this wasn't proven, and this book is speculating about a legend that was about a rumored crystal. There's no telling if this was actually possible."

"It's been right so far about everything else concerning the Hizrounswa," Mina said. "At the very least, we need to try."

"There's one more thing we have to worry about, too," Melissa interrupted.

"What's that?"

"It's what I talked about yesterday. Above everything else Darien said, we don't know what Reenie would want us to do."

"Oh, yeah. You said that we don't know if Reenie _wants_ to be resurrected. Souls can be very tricky things to decipher."

"Melissa," Luna said, "I know what you're saying. We will never know if we don't try, though."

"I don't know if I even want to do this myself, but if you all want to, then I won't object."

Lita walked over to Melissa and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You must've cared for her a lot in that short of time, didn't you?"

"Yes, Lita. I did. I didn't want to see her get hurt. Ever since I knew she existed, I vowed to not have her get involved in the Dark Kingdom."

"What was that incident you told us about yesterday?" Darien asked. "That is, if it's appropriate for me to ask."

"It's okay, Darien. I visited a school to put on this performance with a beloved teacher for the kids, but some terrorists stuck, and I tried my best to keep them from doing the unthinkable, but they made me crash through the second story window, and then blew up the school with all the kids still inside of it."

"Oh, my God!" Mina exclaimed. "That's...horrible!"

"The terrorists died with them. Some sick sacrifice for their dead leader or something. I still don't know why it was necessary. I tried to have them take me instead of the kids, but..."

"You must really like children then."

"Love them. I visited that school so many times, and those kids had those wonderful smiles on their faces. They didn't know about any of the hardships I faced as a queen. They didn't know about any budgets, or what magical powers was what, or anything like that. All they knew was that their hero was there. You forgot all of your troubles the second you saw those kids' faces. I swore upon myself that I would never let anything like that happen again, yet..."

"The guilt you feel for what happened to the Moon Kingdom is sincere, then," Luna said. "Though I didn't think there was any reason to doubt it, now it's set in stone."

"Probably why you're torn on whether or not to go through with this resurrection thing," Mina added. "Your morals are getting in the way of you making a decision one way or another."

"Like I said," Melissa answered, "I won't stop anyone and I'll go with anything you decide. I don't want to be in the way. But I don't want to hide my disagreement with doing something like this."

"We can worry about the morality of it later," Casto interrupted. "I think we can_ all_ agree that this at least tells us that we need to get the Hizrounswa out of Rubeus' hands, which should've been our goal from the start."

"That I _do _agree with!"

"Who's going to be the bait, though?" Luna asked.

"Good question," Casto said. "Me, Darien, and you have been struck by him, and I'm sure he'll want to finish us off, but at the same time, we can't keep taking shots, and Melissa's been hit a few times by it before, too."

"I don't know where I'm getting the resistance of that weapon from, actually," Melissa answered.

"I know," Artemis said. "It reads here that those that carry strong shadow powers have all the luck. They can still be hurt by it, but they can prove to be resistant to the shots. You have the natural resistance because you have a similar element."

"Then why did Casto get so messed up by the shot he took?"

"His powers are strong, but the element is not as strong in nature as yours is."

"Yeah, Melissa," Casto added, "remember who bore me. She had strong holy powers, so I might have less resistance than you do. I have some, though. By all accounts, I should be dead right now from that shot I took. Still hurts like a son of a bitch, but it could've been a lot worse, considering where he hit me."

"I was born by a family who also knew shadow magic, and could use it a lot better than I can now, and I've had a while to master it," Melissa answered. "It's why I know so much of it, and why I carry so much. I should be thankful I have it."

"Then you would be perfect bait if you hadn't been hit before. Resistance can only do so much before it gives way. It makes you less susceptible, not invincible."

"Plus, Serena would know that you could hold your own against it," Artemis objected. "Serena would wait to act if she knew someone was good at saving herself."

"I can do it," Amy said as she raised her hand. "I want to get Rubeus back for his actions in Antarctica."

"But he will probably know that it would be too good to be true," Mina answered. "Let me. He hasn't tried to attack me yet, so I will be a fresh target, and she's like a sister to me, so I don't think she'll let Rubeus come for me for too long."

"But you're Sailor V," Lita objected. "He would be expecting some resistance from you. So would Serena."

"Same for you. You would be very susceptible to fighting back and not making it easy for him. Casto and Darien both have been hit before, too. We can't risk them."

"It's not something I haven't done before," Casto responded. "Like Melissa said, I've got some resistance. Maybe not as much as Melissa has, but it may be enough."

"Yeah, Cas, _may _be," Melissa barked. "I'm not letting you or Darien take this mission up, especially when we're trying to get Rubeus to show his evil mug to us."

"Hey," Darien snarled back, "I can still fight, y'know."

"She's right, Darien," Amy said. "You're still injured."

"Nothing I haven't..."

"No!" Melissa yelled. "You're not going to go out there on my watch."

That was followed by the entire group arguing amongst themselves in such a way that it was hard to tell who was talking, or what they were saying. Every single person and animal in the living room was creating an ambient noise that could wake the neighborhood.

All were participating, that is, except Raye, who was grunting in frustration. She had yet to say anything about who should be the bait, and it only took about five seconds for her to shoot up to her feet. "_ENOUGH_!" The rest of the group stopped dead and turned to the screaming Raye. Did it really work like that in real life, too? She was thankful it worked that way this time around, though that was too much like the television shows she watched as a child for her to believe that it might've played out that way.

Nonetheless, she continued, "I'll go out there!"

"What?" Casto gasped.

"I've been a bitch tonight, at the worst possible time for me to be one. That, and me and Serena are really close. I would die for her, and she knows that, though she's stopped me from doing that so many times. Plus, I," Raye paused, "I owe it to you all, after all I've been saying lately. It's been especially tough for me. I'm so worried about my Grandpa not seeing a doctor when he needs to. I'm so confused about why I can't find myself to trust someone I know I can. I'm so angry at what happened to get me to such a point. And I'm saddened to know that one of my best friends is out there, angry as sin, and putting herself and others in danger because she can't think straight. I need to help my best friend. I insist on letting me take Rubeus on. I'm not afraid of what that thing will do to me."

"Raye," Melissa said, "I can understand if you have your doubts about me. You don't have to prove that..."

"No, Melissa. If you want me to trust you, you'll let me put things somewhat right."

"Actually, that's not just her concern, Raye," Casto added. "This is a dangerous proposition, and you want to take it on as if you're ready to die, and none of us want that."

"My mind's made up. The rest of you keep hidden in that alley a block south of here."

"Wait a minute!" Artemis yelled. "We're not gonna fight him _now_, are we?"

"Why not?"

"Shouldn't we wait until morning, or at least when we can devise a plan?"

"Like I said," Melissa answered, "I'm not going to stop anyone, but Raye, let me tell you right now: I don't agree with this, and I don't like it. Also, if I see you in any type of danger, I'm getting you out of there; I don't care what anyone says or thinks about it if it comes to that. Understood?"

"Don't worry about me, Melissa." Raye nodded. "I'll be careful. I'm not going to just _let_ him shoot me or anything. You'll know when I need help."

"The alley south of here, right?"

"Yes."

"I know where that is. Casto, you, Artemis, and Darien keep an eye on Luna."

"No way," Casto objected. "Darien can stay if he wants, but I'm going with you."

"Not a chance," Melissa ordered as the girls began to run out the door. "You're too wounded. We don't know what's going to happen."

"But..."

"But nothing, Casto! You're grounded until we get back!" Melissa ran to catch up to the others as the door slammed shut.

"And she isn't even my mother," Casto said to himself.

"You think they're doing the right thing?" Darien asked.

"I don't know. I'm not used to staying on the sidelines while my friends wage a war. This is to try to get my sister to show herself, too."

"I don't get why she wanted me to stay behind, either, Casto," Artemis agreed, "but I'm sure she has her reasons. She knows Rubeus' behavior a lot more than we do because she had to put up with him for some time before she could escape the Dark Kingdom, if you remember."

"Melissa seemed to be sure that she was protecting you," Luna added. "She was beside herself when she saw you get shot yesterday, too."

Casto knelt towards Luna, who had fallen asleep again. He slowly put the afghan over top of her and kissed her temple. "Get some rest, babe. You've protected us so much. It's time for us to protect you."

"Casto?"

"Keep an eye on her, Artemis. I don't want Rubeus getting any sneaky ideas."

Darien shot up out of his seat. "Casto, no! Melissa will have your head if you do this!"

"Then let her try! Melissa is my friend, and Rubeus is luring my sister into a goddamned trap!"

He began to storm for the door when he heard an elegant voice call out to him, "Casto, no! Don't go!"

"Trista?"

"Sailor Pluto?" Artemis asked.

"Yes, Casto, Artemis," she answered as she appeared inside a magical screen. "It is I."

"Why are you telling me not to go?" Casto roared, his fist raised in front of him.

"She is correct in making you three stay behind, but she isn't correct in her reason. All of you have been blinded to what Rubeus has actually been planning from the start. It is the same thing that Melissa was trying to do before she resigned."

"What are you talking about?" Artemis questioned.

"Melissa has heard about the corruption, and I am sure you have not only heard about it yourselves, but you have also been corrupted at some point in your lives. She must realize that she is playing right into Rubeus' trap. In fact, this is why Serena needs to be corralled before anything else. She is doing exactly what Rubeus wants her to do."

"What do you mean by...?" Casto stopped as he suddenly had a light turn on in his head. "Please, tell us what you think he's planning! We don't have much time!"

"I didn't remember you for being so blind yourself, Casto. I should tell you: he's trying to revive _her_!"

**-xXXXXx-**

It only took the girls a minute or so to sprint to the brick path that Raye had mentioned. There were a few houses here, but they were vacant. At least they hoped. They didn't need the unwanted attention this time from the fuzz, though they knew that was a possibility, even if it was a slender one.

"How do you suppose we get him to come after us?" Amy inquired.

Raye popped her head around the corner of the alleyway, trying to find some sort of attention grabber. "Didn't think that far ahead yet."

"Great!" Mina groaned. "All this time arguing over who's going to be the scapegoat, and we don't even know how we're supposed to have him know that..."

"Shh," Melissa interrupted. "Raye, how can you say that you don't trust me?"

"What? Melissa, I thought I told you..."

"Luna was nearly dead on arrival, and you still thought I would harm Gramps. Or is that too disrespectful for you? You know I have the right to call him what I like, do you?"

Raye had to think for a moment why Melissa was opening up old wounds. She answered back anyway, "No, Melissa, you don't. He's _my _Grandpa, and it's _our_ Shrine. At least treat them with respect."

"Like you would ever treat your own place with that much respect. Maybe I should've never saved you from the shot. Lord knows you probably deserved it."

"Melissa!" Lita screamed. "You cannot mean...!"

Melissa answered by waving her hand forward towards the three girls before pointing to the alley.

"What the...?" Mina began.

"Ohh," Amy realized, "I think I know what she's doing. Into the alley, now!"

"What's going on?"

As the three motioned into the alley, Amy continued, "Remember why Rubeus attacked the Shrine last week?"

"Ohhh, yeah," Lita whispered. "The distrust she and Melissa attracted Rubeus to the Shrine."

"The argument earlier, too," Mina added. "Let's just hope Rubeus is dumb enough to fall for it."

"I did. I don't see how Rubeus couldn't."

The three watched behind a large dumpster as Raye and Melissa continued their faux argument, though Melissa hoped that Raye knew what she was trying to do.

"The hell could you say that, Melissa?"

"After all I did for Gramps, and after all I did to protect that shitty Shrine? Hmph! Tell that old man that he can keep his dumb ass lessons, and that he can drop dead!"

"Screw you, then, Melissa! Or, should I say, Queen Beryl?"

Melissa paced past her, bumping her very hard and almost running her over. However, once she initiated contact, Melissa quickly whispered to Raye, "Start walking! Don't look back, whatever you do!"

The slight nods they gave each other put the other three's minds at ease. Once Melissa turned into the alley and gave one more look back, she quickly cowered behind the dumpster with the others.

"You had _me_ fooled," Lita said.

"Let's see if it did the same to Rubeus." Melissa slowly crawled to the other side of the dumpster and slid her back onto it. "C'mon, Rubeus. I know you couldn't resist trying to plant those seeds of distrust."

"Ugh! That bitch!" they heard Raye scream. '_Rubeus, where are you?_'

Melissa looked back and forth, on the rooftops, trying to locate her arch enemy. Her eyes were watery, and it took mere seconds for Lita to notice. "Melissa?"

"Rubeus, don't tell me I said those things for nothing. If you make me say those horrible things and then not show, I swear on my life..."

"Does she know you were just...?"

"I hope so, Amy. I could taste vomit in my throat as I said all that. That Shrine means everything to me, and after this, I'm checking on him."

Raye walked a few house lengths south, away from the alley, and Melissa carefully stepped to the other side of the alley and skimmed the wall to the corner. '_No, Raye, why over there? The Shrine is on the North end. What are you doing?_'

"Melissa, why did you let Casto and Darien get hurt, too? Why did you tell Grandpa my secret? You know his power isn't strong enough to know that I was Sail..." Raye bit her tongue as she looked down another alley.

"Melissa," Amy whispered, "what's going on?"

"She's heading South. Why?"

"Nothing is of interest to her," Mina answered. "At least as far as I know."

"Would Serena stop chasing him long enough to check on any of us?" Lita asked.

"Shit!" Melissa snarled beneath her breath. "I forgot about that. He might be on the other side of the...huh?"

"What is it?"

"Just got an evil vibe. I remember feeling as strong of a resonance as I just did. It's definitely Rubeus, but it wasn't from here. It's like he doesn't care what happens to any of us."

"You sound like," Lita began, "like he already has what he wants."

"Do you think that he could really be...?"

Melissa suddenly heard her communicator beep loudly. She didn't realize that it was that bodacious of a sound, but it was the least of her worries at the moment. She couldn't even guess what this was about when she opened up the flip.

"Melissa," Casto said at the other end, "you five have to come back. Sailor Pluto's here."

**-xXXXXx-**

"I felt Rubeus there, Casto," Melissa snarled as she hurried back into the house. The four other Sailors rushed in with her. "Why are we coming back when we know he's...?"

"He isn't worried about you anymore," they heard the same sultry voice that called for Casto say to them.

"Sailor Pluto," Raye cheered as she smiled at the same magic screen that the rest saw hovering over the coffee table in the living room.

"Don't worry about Serena and Rubeus right now. I'll keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get where I believe they are headed to. They are not close yet, but if we don't do something soon, it will be too late."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked. "Not close to where?"

"The one place you once occupied, Melissa. The place you swore you never wanted to go back to."

"Oh, my God! D-Point!"

**-xXXXXx-**

Tato Gumpi sat in a police cruiser in a back alley. He listened to the police radio crack over and over, making various tuning sounds and calls for situations. He wondered if anyone was going to answer any of the calls. For the middle of the night, nearing four in the morning by now, the calls were numerous. Domestic violence, he thought, was the latest one he heard. He couldn't bring himself to pay that much attention to the older woman on the other end as she ran down each call they were receiving.

'_For all that work_.' he thought, '_and I bet she doesn't even make ten percent of what Chief Yoka is making._' He took a peek out of the windshield, at the city hall. '_Yeah, Mister Treasurer, I know you like to come to work early. I need your help._'

Speak of the devil. A car slowly pulled into the parking garage right next to where he was parked. Even for an officer, he wondered if he should've been parked here. He took a sip of what he considered to be some of the worst coffee he had ever tasted. He bought it and swore to himself that he would drink the sludge, but he was reminded that he got what he paid all forty-five yen, every time he took a drink.

Just a few minutes and another drink of his sludge later, Gumpi finally saw who he was waiting for: Orno Malari, the Juuban Treasurer. He saw the man run his fingers through his hair and race across the street to the city building. The treasurer turned the corner and headed towards the steps.

Gumpi tossed the remainder of the coffee out of the window—he swore the stuff ate through the concrete sidewalk—and drove his car at the breakneck speed of five miles an hour. As he coasted the corner and stopped at the front of the building, he continued to watch Malari as he began a slow trek up the stairs. A few moments later, Gumpi opened the door and let himself out of the cruiser. "Hey, Malari!"

"Huh?" the treasurer said in a somewhat high-pitched voice. "Officer Gumpi? What are you doing here this early?"

"I need to ask a favor from you," Gumpi said as he ran up the steps to meet him. "I need to know where that money is going."

**-xXXXXx-**

"The commissioner is going to have us hung if we get caught," Malari panicked as he and Gumpi entered a pitch black room.

"Be quiet and turn on the light, will you?"

Malari reached to the side of the door he just locked and flicked the switch. It was a small room, and Gumpi shielded his eyes against the bright light. There were file cabinets lining the walls of the room, and some more rows in the center. It was a small room, but still large enough to handle some more files of whatever kind there were in here.

"They seriously keep files in this dump room?" Gumpi asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, and I was trying to get them to at least organize things so I could find them better, but you know them. They would rather get a better paycheck than help us make our jobs easier."

"But you're the treasurer."

"I'm no lawmaker, now. Don't overestimate me." Malari ran a set of digits through his hair.

Gumpi began walking down one of the corridors. He was thankful that his eyes were now adjusted to the light. He waived Malari towards him. "So, where are the pay files?"

"Pay files?"

"That tell where the money we're getting is going towards."

"You mean the earnings reports."

"Yeah, whatever you said. I need to see the reports for the last few months. Probably since August."

"That's a while back, though," Malari concluded as he turned into the opposite corridor.

Gumpi had to keep up with Malari's sudden energy. "I don't care. I need to see them...and slow down, will you? I can't run that fast."

"And you're a police officer?"

Gumpi groaned. "Just shut up and find those things for me, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Don't have a coronary, now! Here they should be." Malari got to one knee and opened the bottom drawer of the middle left filing cabinet. He flipped his fingers through several folders, and finally found what he was looking for. "There we go." He pulled out a few folders and handed them to Gumpi. "I believe these are what you're looking for."

Gumpi was indeed looking for this information. The bottom folder that he was handed had 'August' written on it, with each folder in sequence to October. He put the two topmost folders down on top of the cabinet and opened up the August folder.

"So far, nothing. Same as before." Malari could tell that Gumpi was thinking as he was reading just by his stretching of his syllables as he spoke. "Nothing too out of the ordinary."

"I don't know what you would need to see to prove your case, Officer. Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"Not really. There's no way to really tell unless..._wait_!"

"Hmm?"

Gumpi took out a sheet of paper out of the folder and closed it with the paper on top. "Sixty million yen we made, and we received only four hundred thousand of it. Where did the rest of it go?"

"Maybe to the Chief's pocket?"

"No, it couldn't have. The Chief didn't ask for his raise until September, but we still would have more money even if this was after the raise. Fifty nine million and six hundred thousand yen just vanishes?"

"You have to consider the other departments, though, Officer. It's not like you're the only department that needs money."

"Let's see if you're right." Gumpi skimmed over the paper again. "Total monetary spending comes to ten million yen. Fifty million yen unaccounted for. How could you just miss that?"

"We've been at a large surplus for some time now. I thought you knew."

"But why is so little being spent if we're making so much. We're nearly robbing these taxpayers blind. I don't know how we _earn_ that much, let alone lose so much of it."

"That's from all the other contributions, too. The Prime Minister of Japan has been giving us a lot of money, and you have to think also about how many rich people live in this suburb. They are willing to pay whatever it takes to live here, though I hear a tax cut is coming soon."

"No, this can't be from..."

"Hey, sir, watch it. I'm not in the mood today!" they heard a woman echo from the other side of the door.

"I didn't mean to run into you, Juno."

"Crap!" Gumpi gasped quietly. "It's that old hag from the School Authority Board."

"Never liked her."

"Why is this locked?" Hanoi asked as the two heard her begin to fiddle with the knob. "They always seem to think that they can keep these things hidden from me."

She opened the door, seeing the light on, and a drawer opened in the rightmost row of cabinets. "Hmm, someone else was in here before me. Don't know how to pick up after ourselves, do they?" She walked over to the open drawer and kicked it closed. "Now, where's that one thing they have on Patricia they mentioned?"

Hanoi began searching through each drawer, nearly slamming the drawers just as fast as she had opened them. "C'mon! I know Patricia had to have had something on what she did to me. I remembered them recording it to put on her file. Ugh!"

She opened two drawers at a time when someone else opened the door. "Miss Hanoi, what are you doing in here causing all that racket?"

"Oh," Hanoi answered, spinning on her heel. "I'm trying to find something for the trial tomorrow."

"Trial? You mean hearing. Why don't you just come and ask me?"

"It's nothing you can help me with, thank you."

"You should wait until that one guy comes in in a few hours. He knows more about that mess of a filing room than even I do. Whatever you're looking for, he'll surely be able to find it."

"I need it before the hearing tomorrow."

"He'll be here way before then. I don't know what you could possibly want in here, anyway. C'mon, Miss Hanoi. Let's go get some breakfast. I know a place that is open right now that you'll love."

"Sure. At least someone around here still knows how to treat a lady." Hanoi straightened out her shirt and walked out the door.

At the other ends of the corridors were Gumpi and Malari, each pressed against a row of cabinets. Malari hugged the folders close to his chest.

"That was way too close," Gumpi sighed.

"Tell me about it," Malari agreed as he slowly rose to his feet. "She doesn't practice what she preaches, either. Two drawers now open, and the light is _still_ on."

"What kind of thing do you suppose she was looking for?"

"No clue, though if _she's_ trying to find it, it can't be good. Third day of that hearing was going to happen today. Don't know what else they could say about her."

"You think Patricia's going to be allowed to teach again?" Gumpi asked as he began walking towards the two open drawers.

"Can't say. Hanoi said they had _something_ damning about her, so I guess they have some trump card."

"Hard to believe that some would go to great lengths to oust someone they don't like."

Malari walked towards the front door. "Sounds like you are rooting for her."

"I am. My daughter was taught by her, and I'm so thankful to Patricia."

"I don't know. Good person, she might be, but they have a point on her personality in the classroom. I don't know if I would want Harold taking her place, but I'm torn on whether or not she should stay."

'_She was a worker in an orphanage before becoming a teacher, though, Malari. She would not be one if she didn't have the skills for it._'

"Officer?"

"Nothing. I just remember someone telling me about her former job."

"Who?"

"Just someone who I met while answering a call...woah!"

Malari had been staring at Gumpi the entire time, and noticed that he was glancing in the two opened drawers. "What is it? Did you see what Hanoi was looking for?"

"No, but check this out!" Gumpi pulled out a thick folder. On it, it said, "RECORDED GANG ACTIVITY!"

"Why would City Hall have a record of that?"

"You tell me! We never got this over at H.Q. I wonder why."

"You don't get any records of gangs?"

"Nope, though we're not allowed to look in _our_ file room, and I thought Japan passed an anti gang law in 1992 that gave us sufficient authority over gangs."

Gumpi licked his fingers and flipped through the several pages of records. Malari looked on as he surveyed the files, as well.

"I don't see anything that could be of any use to yo..."

"Hold on. Million yen a week in August, several more needs to be paid out in September to members."

"Members of what?"

Gumpi pulled out a few pages and returned the folder to the drawer before closing both of them. "We need you to cooperate with us. We are short of monetary resources, and we need your friends in the offices to come through before the start of the new year. We plan to expand our operations by then to Juuban, and we need your help. We will rise to a new era where everyone will fear us." He took his eyes off the page. "What the hell?"

"What's up?"

He continued reading, "Do not worry about anyone finding out your connection to us. We're the only group of our kind to work in secret. The officers are only petty fools, and the Sailors will soon know what it is like to mess with our Wakagashira, even if that means a sword through the heart."

"That's the title of the second highest in command of..."

"Yes, I know, and I don't get this. Operating in secret? Threatening to kill? It's not like them."

"A new clan, or maybe a spinoff gang?"

"No. Wakagashira is definitely what you're thinking it is. Second highest ranking Yakuza family member."

Gumpi's assumption was made clear by a stamp that the copy of the hand-written note he was reading showed: a Yakuza family symbol. One he had never seen before.

* * *

Please review if possible. Good night and good luck.


	4. Gates of Wrath

THE END OF INNOCENCE  
CHAPTER 4  
Gates of Wrath

Written by Darkpower  
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)

* * *

It was four thirty in the morning, and Casto was more or less sleeping, though he was trying to stay awake as much as he could. After all, his former flame was standing right before him in a large projection that hovered over the coffee table in his house. Soon the sun would begin to peek and, in an hour and a half, he guessed, Sammy would be waking up and getting dressed for school.

The others who had circled around the table to listen to Pluto were also beginning to tire. No, they were already tired and their bodies were screaming at them to rest. They were all trying to stay awake, for they knew whatever Pluto had to say was extremely important.

"This needs to be quick," Amy said to Pluto. "No offense, but I don't know how much longer I can stay awake."

"Me either," Raye added through a yawn. "This entire day has been draining on me."

"I know you want to get some sleep," Pluto answered, "and I assure you that when everything is done, you will be able to rest all you need to. However, this is something that cannot be ignored, and we cannot wait. Serena is falling for Rubeus' trap, and she doesn't even consider it."

"Well, can you blame her?" Lita exclaimed. "Her daughter was killed by that man. How can you _not_ think that she would want to kick his ass?"

"I know how you all feel about Rubeus' deeds. I assure you that I want to kill him for what I saw him do to Small Lady, as well. However, I do know that Rubeus also knows how badly she wants his head, and I am aware of what he is planning to do. You are correct, Melissa. He wants to lure her to D-Point."

"Why, though?" Melissa asked. "Why would he want to get her back there?"

"For the same reason he was trying to lure you back, Melissa. He wants to wake _her_ up."

"Metaria," Melissa growled.

"I've been looking into the future to see what were to happen if the events were to continue the way they are right now, and what I saw scared me. She will become corrupted, and even become a criminal. She won't ever want to stop fighting Rubeus, which is what he wanted when he lured her to D-Point. There, he made sure that Metaria was able to..."

"Absorb her," Mina gasped.

"It would indeed set Metaria free, and that is something this world does not need. The entire Earth would crumble before our very eyes with those two being able to roam free. All of the power in the world would not be able to stop them if they were able to do what they really want to do."

"Even when we think we've got him and he's on the defensive," Melissa answered, "he's _still_ thinking of new ways to torture us. But that corrupted line. I've heard that be use so often, and I'm not sure what it means to be corrupted. No one will tell me what it is exactly."

"You should know all too well what corruption is, Melissa. You had a severe case of corruption, and you were set free from it. You also were able to corrupt Darien here one year ago."

Melissa had to readjust herself in her seat. "Wait! I don't even know what you're talking about with this corruption business, and you're saying I _did_ corrupt someone?"

"You still do not know what the concept is, even when you have done it yourself and have been corrupted. I can understand why you are lost."

"Trista," Casto interrupted, "I don't know what this corruption thing is, either, and even if we _all_ should know, we don't. We need some more insight into what it is you're talking about. We need to know what we're up against and how to combat it, and with all due respect, you're not really answering anything directly. How can we know what something is if no one answers the questions?"

"Casto, you were always direct and to the point." Pluto cleared her throat hard. "Okay, then. But you must listen carefully. The corruption is something that has existed long before we were even born, even before your parents were conceived. There is no physical form to the corruption, nor is there any one reason why one would be corrupted. In fact, you all could be corrupted right now, and you wouldn't even know it."

"Okay," Artemis answered, "you lost me."

Pluto took a deep breath. "When you face someone like Rubeus, what do you feel you could do to him? What do you think your hands could do once you get a hold of him, and he's at your mercy?"

"I could tear him apart," Darien growled.

"You feel evil intentions come on, even though you never think of yourself as evil, correct?"

"Yes, exactly."

"_That_ is corruption. It's the evil within your hearts. It festers until your emotions feel as though you need it. However, at the same time, your good nature tries to fight it off. In other words, that's what makes up your conscious. Think of it as the red devil on your left shoulder trying to convince you to ignore the angel on your right shoulder."

Melissa hummed. "So, you're saying that I was corrupted when I was serving Metaria."

"Right, but there lies another point about corruption. If a severe event happens in one's life, or something that affects someone so much, then the corruption can become so severe that no good heart can fight it. It then takes someone else in order to help you fight it. Melissa, you were so corrupted that someone else who was even more corrupted was able to take advantage of you. That was Metaria, though she, and Rubeus, can be classified as criminals."

"And you're saying Serena could be soon, as well," Amy said.

"Yes. A criminal is someone who _chooses_ to be corrupted. You see, when you are corrupted, you don't particularly like the feeling you have. You _want_ to fight it off. Melissa, you wanted to fight off your own corruption, but just didn't know how until you remembered your past enough to know that what you were doing was wrong. You then used your corruption to your advantage until you could find a way out. In the case of Metaria and Rubeus, they choose to block out their good hearts. Those souls allowed it to happen. That is a criminal: someone who wants to be corrupted for whatever reason."

Melissa shot to her feet and punched the mantle. "I would never want to be such a person. Never!"

"You were never a criminal, Melissa," Pluto reassured her. "Just severely corrupted."

"I never wanted to do those things to the Moon Kingdom. None of this would've ever happened if I would've tried to fight this off. I was too afraid of myself to try to fight this."

"You did, Melissa!"

"Yeah, and look what good it's doing for any of you. Reenie's dead, the Moon Kingdom got leveled because of someone who should've known better, and..."

"Stop it, Melissa!" Raye yelled. "I know I haven't been the best person to you, but I still believe you. I still think that you're a good person inside, and you're trying to make things right. It's hard trying to trust someone who's done all of what you did."

"Raye, please..."

"Let me finish, Mina! Whatever you're doing to try to make things right, Melissa, it's working. But it's not as if those like Rubeus are never going to be pushing back."

"Melissa," Pluto added, "Rubeus was trying to lure you back to have Metaria absorb you, too."

Melissa turned on her heel and flew over the love seat. "What did you say?"

"Remember when Rubeus was trying to kill Reenie those other times? I discovered his reasons. He attempted to frame you for her death. He wanted the Sailors to not be able to trust you, and for you to feel guilty or angry enough to return."

The news left all the Sailors at a standstill, Artemis especially. "Rubeus was trying to...?"

Raye sunk into the couch as far as she could. "That time back at the Shrine when I saw Rubeus and Melissa fight, with my Grandpa bloodied up. He..._wanted_ me to think Melissa did that?"

"I knew he was trying to frame me," Melissa continued, "but I didn't really know why he was trying to get me to come back."

"But why would Serena need to be this 'criminal'?" Lita asked.

Melissa turned her head away, remembering the last act she did before leaving the Dark Kingdom. "The tiara. It gave me extra power I didn't inherently have."

"What are you saying?"

"Sailor Moon's energy may not be enough on its own. She would need to heighten it to such a point. Maybe to also offset the goodness her heart has."

Casto stood, bracing his pain somewhat. "The more she sees Rubeus commit these actions, the more evil she feels she must be to counteract him."

"The only way to beat Rubeus is to become a little _like_ Rubeus. I think I can understand her thinking now."

"That's why we don't have that much time," Pluto assured. "Serena has let the corruption consume her to the point where there might not be any turning back. We can't let Rubeus win anymore."

"Melissa," Casto said, "don't try to stop us this time. I'm going. I don't care how badly I'm hurt. This corruption sounds like serious business."

"Casto," Melissa sighed as she stood up, "I'm not gonna stop you. I don't like this, myself. Princess Serena, what are you doing? I would rather see that bright smile of yours that accepted me so quickly."

"Aren't we gonna get some sleep before we head out?" Mina yawned. "I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"I'll check to see if there is an immediate danger with the two." Pluto closed her eyes and began to wave her Garnet Rod in front of her. "No, it can't be."

"Can't be what?" Artemis asked.

"Rubeus may have found a way to lure her to D-Point rather easily. I can sense something nearby. It should be okay for you to get some rest for now, but be ready at any moment in case we need to take drastic action. I'll keep an eye on it and I'll let Melissa or Casto know if I see anything."

Casto gave a heavy sigh as he rose to his feet. Thoughts about his sister rushed through his mind as he walked out of the room. The others could only watch as he somberly paced into the hallway. They could tell he was walking up the steps from the sounds of footsteps hitting the ceiling. They didn't hear a door shut, though they knew he was upset from the pacing.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Mina asked.

"I usually don't see him like that," Pluto answered. "I'm worried that he's lost faith."

"This is a tough time for him, too, though," Lita added. "He's so worried about his sister."

"They were extremely close to one another on the Moon. I remember how people said that there wouldn't be a thing they wouldn't do together. I think the reason why she fell in love with you, Darien," Pluto swallowed heavily, "is because you reminded her so much of Casto. You're very much like him. Kind, warm, and protective. She saw her brother in you, Darien."

Darien looked to the figure hovering over the table with narrow eyes. "She saw me as a second brother to her?"

"I think what she means," Melissa said, "is that when Serena met you, she saw so much of what made her become so close to her brother inside of you. People tend to hit it off with those with similar personalities as those they are close to in their families. I saw it happen a lot on the North Pole."

"Yeah, I know what you're saying." Darien stood up and walked near the archway. "I need to get some rest."

"How are you getting back? Hell, how did you get here to begin with?"

"Well, Ikuko drove me and Casto here when we heard about Pluto's appearance."

"Darien," Pluto mentioned, "don't aggravate your injury any more than you have to. Your friends need you healthy, and your continued stubbornness could lead to you doing more than you think you're doing."

"I agree," Melissa said. "I don't think any of us should leave."

"Melissa, I can hear the disdain in your voice. You did not cause Luna to get hurt, and neither did you cause any of the recent events. I know that for a fact."

"It's getting harder for me to think like that, Pluto." Melissa rose to her feet. "I'm sorry. I'm going out back for a moment. I need some air." Melissa sidestepped Darien, and the girls heard a door in the back of the hall opening and shutting.

"It will be easier to contact all of you if I see anything that requires attention if you are all in the same place, anyway," Pluto continued. "I'll let the family know about the situation so they are not surprised to find you all here. For now, go ahead and get some rest. I will come back if I find anything." Pluto's image vanished after.

"I'm gonna go see if he's okay," Mina said as she somberly stood and walked up the steps in the hallway.

Lita watched Mina the entire way, cocking an eyebrow. "She looked extremely depressed when she saw Casto head out."

"What a way to develop a crush," Amy added. "I could see it, too. Though I wonder why she's just now showing any signs of it."

"Maybe that time she told us about that guy dumping her at the altar when in the Venus Kingdom made her not want to pursue them," Artemis answered.

'_But maybe Casto's intervention that day has something to do with how she feels about him_,' Lita thought to herself as she collapsed on the other love seat and shut her eyes.

**-xXXXXx-**

Casto went straight into Serena's room and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath as he felt the warm, pink blankets. He imagined Serena tucked in, with her long hair serving as a second blanket as she would've lain on her stomach. He saw something else about the blanket that made him chuckle: they had several bunny faces lined up in a diagonal pattern. He looked over to his side to see the same large stuffed bunny that stood guard over the corner when he was searching for her a month ago, and the same animal insignia was scattered across the room.

"Bunny," he whispered under his breath, "why does it have to be like this? What's happening to you?"

He looked to the alarm clock radio. It had turned to five in the morning. It was the latest he had ever stayed awake. He knew none of them would be in school tomorrow, though for him, that would mean some more issues with Harold Koa. He didn't think that man deserved the respect of being called "Mister Koa".

He approached the dresser and let his arms support him as he leaned down on it. He eyed himself through the mirror. "What am I doing? I should be looking for her instead of sitting here thinking about it. But I wouldn't even know where to start looking. She's chasing Rubeus to God knows where, and I feel as if I can't do a damned thing about it. I promised that I wouldn't ever leave her side again, but I'm doing so now."

He lifted himself up and looked once more to the bed. It looked comfortable, and his weary body needed the rest. However, that was reserved for his sister, at least to him, and he fought with himself to not crash in the bed. He thought about it some more, ignoring the sound of the door opening behind him.

"Casto?" he heard Mina's voice ask him. "You okay?"

"She hated being called bunny."

Mina walked into the room and shut the door behind her. "Hmm?"

"She had those long pigtails all her life. On the Moon, I always told her she looked like a bunny with them. The large balls she made her hair into looked like the soft fur that rested at the bottom of the ears, and the tails flopped when she ran, like bunny ears."

He could hear Mina giggle at the end of his words. "We always called her Meatball Head. Those things look like a pair of meatballs to us. She hates that, too, but it's really funny when we got her mad like that. Nothing funny about the anger we're seeing now."

"Her anger about the bunny thing was hilarious. I remember yelling 'bunny, bunny, bunny' all through the halls. She was getting dressed, and she was getting her shoes on when I began teasing her. She chased me barefoot all throughout the kingdom. I laughed my ass off as I kept screaming at her 'bunny, bunny, bunny'. Finally, we got outside, in the back, where this huge pond was. And I told her that if she wanted me to stop, she would have to come get me. That's when I jumped into the water. Yes, there _was_ water on the Moon, at least at the time. I didn't think she would because she had that princess dress on, but in she went, dress on and all. And we wrestled in the pond for a good half hour or so, I can't remember for sure, the time went by so quick. But I knew that, behind that crinkled nose and mean looking eyes, she was laughing just as hard as I was. She got me back, though, numerous times. My clothes weren't dry for a week after that, but it was so worth it."

Mina sighed through her small smile. "It sounded like you and her were extremely close."

"She hated it, but at the same time, she knew I loved her, and she knew I was doing it out of affection."

"Are you sure about that? After seeing how angered Rubeus made her..."

"No, I'm sure. In fact, when I decided to leave, one of the things she said to me to try to convince me to stay was that his bunny needed him there."

"Wow!"

"When I saw her room for the first time, I was puzzled that she loved bunnies. They're all over the place here."

"Maybe it was because she felt like she was safe with them here, because she knew there was someone from within all those bunnies who kept an eye on her. Maybe they reminded her of you, though she didn't know anything about you until a month ago." Mina walked over to the somber Casto and rested her head on his shoulder from behind him. "Casto, can I ask you something?"

"Umm," Casto stuttered, "y-yeah."

"How is it that we had to grow up to this age before learning about our heritage while it only took you a few years? I don't mean to offend or doubt you, but I've always wondered how it happened."

"Oh, I don't even know. I wish I did. Personally, I thought all of you retained your ages and memories when I crashed on Earth. It wasn't until I was headed here that I found out about Luna needing to reawaken the memories. I can say that there was a lot of blue and black as I was spiraling down in the shuttle that day. I think maybe a temporal time warp made it so I would be able to find you all again in a short amount of time, but..."

"I don't want to put you on the spot or anything."

"No, you're not. I would love to know myself."

"Why the nervousness I hear in your voice, then?"

Casto looked towards the golden haired head that rested near his. "Because, you suddenly went all cuddly cuddly on me."

"Oh, you mean this?" Mina asked with a hand high in the air, pointing down to her head. "Your shoulder just became the closest pillow."

"I'm glad it's comfortable for you, but I don't think I could just stand like this all night."

"Then why don't you sit down somewhere." She took her head off of his shoulder for a moment. "Right there."

"Uhh..." Casto groaned.

"_Sit_!" Mina ordered, nearly shoving Casto down right near the bed.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" he said with a raised eye.

Mina jumped over to the other side and sat right next to him, once more laying her head on him. "There we go. Think you could stay like _this_ all night?"

"I don't know, Mina. I'm pretty tired, and could fall asleep right here."

Mina only sighed as she closed her eyes. '_I'm counting on it. I won't leave, either. I'll stay here with you all night if you want me to._'

Casto moved his pupils to see Mina fast asleep now. He was nervous, but didn't say anything. He could feel his drowsiness take over, and found his head on Mina's golden locks and falling into dreamland himself.

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa let her hands support her as they rested on the large brown picket fence. She breathed angrily through her nose, though she didn't know if it was anger or sadness or frustration she was feeling. She looked towards the grass beneath her feet, as if she thought it would somehow tell her what she should do or think. In a way, the grass was exactly like the wall she turned to in her bedroom in the Dark Kingdom.

She could hear the door open behind her, though she didn't move a muscle as Raye came outside. Raye saw the disposition that had become of Melissa. She cleared her throat heavily. "Umm...Melissa?"

"Please, Raye, not now!" Melissa ordered boldly though softly. "I don't need to hear your criticisms of me right now. I don't need to hear how I can't be trusted or anything like that. If that's the only thing you came out here to tell me, then please, just leave me the hell alone."

"I-I'm sorry," she continued. "I didn't mean it the way it came out."

Melissa turned around to see Raye with a somber face. "What did you think it would mean, then? I care about Gramps as much as you do."

"I know you do. I shouldn't have doubted you were being sincere."

"Do you still think I'm disrespecting him?"

"I'm not used to you calling him that, but..."

"I have all the respect in the world for him. He's been able to allow me to face the things I fear the most. I love him to death."

Raye looked up towards the full moon. "I've never felt such a feeling before. I've been so lost. Have you ever felt as though you feel several emotions all at once, and you want to express them all in a way that doesn't offend anyone, but you end up hurting everyone instead because...?"

"I know that feeling all too well. Imagine having to hold it all inside, too. At least here you can express them. I've only recently had a chance to express my frustration. Hell, I've been happy for things I was never allowed to be when I was queen. You have no idea how liberating it is to finally be able to express true feelings after being condemned like that."

"Not sure how anyone could suppress their feelings without going insane."

"When you have something you're trying to protect, then you suddenly ignore the insanity."

"I want to hear Serena's voice again. Not the voice I've heard lately from her, where she's so angry. I want to be able to hear her happy and cheerful. I want to be able to yell at her for being a flake and that, not because she takes her temper too far."

"I miss that side of her, too, Raye. I want to get her back in the worst way."

"Melissa, did you really not know about Grandpa's health issue? I'm not saying you should've. I want to know if there were any issues when you were there, because I haven't seen him cough like that until yesterday."

"No, not at all. That was the first time I learned about it, too. If he did, it wasn't when I was paying attention to it."

"Did you see anything that would make you think that there was something medically wrong with him?"

Melissa shook her head hard. "Nope, though now I wish that I was looking closer at him."

"He doesn't want to go to the hospital, though you should've heard his coughs. It sounded like more than a cold."

Melissa felt a tear run down her cheek. "I shouldn't say anything until I've heard it myself. I don't want to say things are okay when they are not."

"I understand that."

"You need some sleep and not to worry so much about it right now. Get something to clear your mind."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe I should get some rest like she told us to."

Melissa let out a heavy sigh and walked to the door. "I should do the same. I was going to get some rest when I found that third page. I want to check on Casto first, though. I'm worried about him."

"Mina went to check on him already, though I didn't see her come back down yet. I don't know if that's good or bad."

Melissa walked into the door and turned to Raye. "Get some rest. We'll all need it."

Raye nodded and walked past Melissa, leaving the former Queen to ponder.

'_Raye, I still want you to be able to trust me. Anything I can do to make you see that you can would be something I'm willing to do._'

Melissa walked up the stairs slowly, seeing the door to Serena's room shut. '_This wasn't shut before, last I saw._' She cautiously put her hand onto the doorknob. She didn't know what to expect. Maybe Casto only fell asleep. However, with how much she was trying to keep him out of danger, she feared the worst as she slowly turned the knob—being shocked that the door was not locked, which only sent her sense of fear even more into overdrive—and opened the door.

She saw Mina with Casto, backs against the bed, with Casto's head on Mina's, sleeping soundly. Melissa could only smile at them holding each other. '_At least you're safe, Casto. If anything happened to..._'

"Can't sleep, either?" she heard Darien ask her from behind.

"I was about to get to sleep, but I was worried about him."

She felt Darien look past her shoulder. "They look like a cute couple."

"Yeah, they do. I'm happy he found someone."

"From what you said about how people find love based on who they were close to in their family, I think Mina is perfect for him. She's a lot like Serena."

"Yeah," Melissa sighed.

Darien heard it and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, why are you somber? You don't sound like someone who's happy for him."

"Of course I am, Darien! Why_ shouldn't_ I be? It's just what you said. Reminded me of Serena."

"Anything we do is going to remind us of her as long as she's still out there."

Melissa fought off a tear as she began going back downstairs. On her way, however, Darien stopped her. "Wait a minute."

She stopped midway down. "What is it?"

"This is going to sound strange coming from me, but I've been wondering lately."

"About?"

"Well, what you said in my loft yesterday. It got me thinking. What would it be like if I did take you up on your offer to join you in the Dark Kingdom? I mean, without the brainwashing and all of that."

"You wouldn't have wanted to stay there for one second."

"Well, I don't mean like that. I mean, like, if I...well, I don't want to offend you, but...if I wasn't with Serena and all..."

Melissa tried to hide a small snarl. "Darien, why are you telling me this?"

"Did you ever wonder? I mean, if you and I ever did become a couple at any point on the moon. How different were all of our lives be right now. I might've been someone who could've saved you from..."

"Darien, stop it!" Melissa ordered. "I know what you're asking, and for one, I'm not looking for any guys to date. And secondly, you've already got someone who loves you to death. She's someone who you swore on your life you would protect. I don't know why you're asking me, but I'd rather not know the reason."

"It was just something I thought earlier."

"We've all had those thoughts about if we had done things differently. But I don't know if you're asking me about the past or about now. I don't want any relationships right now. I'm fine being friends, but I can't open my heart to anything like that just yet, and I don't know if I could ever do that again. Especially not to someone who's taken, and not to someone like you. I love you, yes, but it's not like that, and I don't think it will ever be like that again. I'm sorry, but I must get some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Melissa walked downstairs without even a peek back to him.

'_Why did she think I was asking her out?_' Darien thought as she looked back towards Mina and Casto. '_Though I wonder what it would've been like if I met her first and not Serena. If we lose her, I wouldn't know what to do. Maybe she's right in me asking her if she's looking without even realizing that I did so. Still, if we can't ever get her back..._'

**-xXXXXx-**

"The Yakuza?" Orno Malari, the slim Juuban Treasurer, nervously asked as a trail of fingers went into his hair. "You can't be serious."

"Read for yourself," officer Tato Gumpi answered as he handed the slip of paper he had found and read inside the City Hall file room to Malari.

Malari read it, his interests increased the more he read the note. "You think the Chief is paying this clan off?"

"Would explain the five million yen that went bye bye. Hell, it would explain why they need that much, and why we _got_ that much."

"No, it wouldn't explain where the money came from to begin with. It would only explain where it went to."

Gumpi shook his head as he retrieved the paper. "Someone would have to confront the Chief about this."

"How about you?"

"Didn't go over too well when I asked him about the police coverage yesterday, though I didn't know then what I do now."

"You still don't know, Gumpi. It could be someone else that's giving them this money."

"No, that's not the only question I have." Gumpi walked over to the table by the locked door and slammed the paper down. "It's about this particular clan. This kind of thing is more of a Mafia-style operation than the Yakuza."

"I see what you're saying," Malari answered. "The Yakuza show their tattoos proudly for everyone to see, especially during parades."

"And they are more about wanting to get money and lots of it. But this note makes mention of wanting to murder someone in cold blood. We've yet to see such an action out of them. Violence? Maybe. Murder and manslaughter? I don't think so."

"Maybe someone who just thinks they are a Yakuza family."

"Could be, but we need to know more about this. I would need to see the financial statements that would have some Yakuza activity on it of any kind."

"That isn't very easy to find out. I don't think any treasurer is going to just _give_ that info away."

"I know, but I need to start somewhere. I'll have to find the origins of this crest, too: a vulture going for a landing on a crescent moon. That's not usual, either."

"Well, I've heard there _is _someone who knows a lot about the Yakuza, but she's stationed all the way in Hiroshima. I can call her and let her know you're on your way if you want to go there."

"Not sure if I want to do that first or talk with the Chief first." Gumpi looked over the note again, and then pivoted on his heels. "What's this woman's name?"

"Noriko Masa," Malari answered with confidence. "She's one of the main detectives they have over there, and she's an expert on gang activity. If anyone knows anything about the people you're looking for, it would be her. Only think is, as I said, that's on the tail end of Japan, and I don't know how much time you have to just go to Hiroshima."

"I can go there today, actually."

"Are you kidding? It would take you an entire day's worth of driving, and I don't know where she is going to be or if she is even going to want to talk to you. Plus, the way you said the Chief was pissed at you, you would be risking your badge."

"Don't worry. I can get a friend of mine to fill in today for me. I don't think he'll mind...and I hope he doesn't. Do you have a phone in your office?"

"Yeah, of course, and if you're asking if you can use it, you're more than welcome to."

"Excellent! I can call him to make sure it's okay. This was to be his off day, though he agreed with me the other day when I told him we needed to do something about this. Can you get in touch with this Noriko woman?"

"I can try, but I can't make any guarantees that I can get through. I haven't talked to her in a long time."

"Do it! I need her if we are to make any sense of this."

Malari answered with a nod as he saw Gumpi pick up the paper and begin to leave, though he took his time and gave a few looks before heading out of the filing room.

'_Noriko, I hope you remember who I am._'

Outside, Gumpi folded the paper and slipped it into his shirt pocket before walking out of the building. He turned the corner, only to bump into someone that he vaguely remembered. "Miss Hanoi?"

"Well, now, I see that even police officers have lost their courtesy. Watch where you're going. I mean, if you know my name already, you would know that I don't like people who don't know how to treat an established woman such as myself."

"Damn, what an ego you have."

Miss Hanoi crinkled her nose. "Ex-_cuse_ me!"

"You heard me. I know you're trying to oust Miss Haruna from her teaching job. Everyone can see what you and your cronies are doing to the poor woman."

"Yeah, and what if we are? What are you gonna do about it? Arrest me?"

"I actually could for misuse of official position. You're not allowed to judge based on personal beliefs."

"And what about all the others who have done so? We make decisions based upon how we feel about a person's qualifications and what we think is best for the district. You don't think we would want what is best for the school?"

"I never said that."

"Then don't criticize me for..."

"You _do_ realize that you're arguing with a cop, right? Even if you are correct, you're really not in any position to argue with authority."

"I _am_ authority, and you might be wise to not cross me, or else!"

"Or else _what_? Now you're _threatening_a police officer. I would quit while I was ahead and still out of the handcuffs if I were you."

"Look," Hanoi yelled angrily, "just let us do our job, okay? The less that's in our way, the faster it will take to get to a decision."

"In and out, as always, I see."

Miss Hanoi said no other words as she walked past Gumpi and into an office.

"Yeah," Gumpi whispered to himself, "go sulk about why you're not qualified as a teacher, you elderly _bitch_! You already know why!" He reached into his shirt pocket and took a quick glance at the paper before heading out the front door.

**-xXXXXx-**

Ikuko woke up early. As in, five in the morning. She had sky-blue pajamas, with the pant legs dragging a little on her heels. They looked like male pajamas to her for how baggy they were at the limbs, but she found them extremely comfortable as she walked towards Serena's bedroom door. She knew her daughter wasn't in there, but she wasn't expecting it closed. She didn't think she had any right to peak in. Even though she hoped that this was a sign her daughter had returned home, she didn't know what kind of emotions Serena was going through. She didn't want to make a bad situation worse.

However, as her hand turned the knob, she breathed a heavy sigh. She had to confront her at some point. Inside, though, she instead found Mina and Casto, sleeping next to each other. They had collapsed onto the floor by this point, with Casto's arm wrapped around Mina, more than likely without him knowing that he had done so.

Ikuko could only smile briefly. '_Casto, you're so brave, and yet, you're someone who wants as many answers as I do. I want to give you all the answers. I want to be there for Serena. I want to be able to protect her and myself if someone ever tries to harm my family again._'

She looked to Mina, who was still with a smile on her face. '_You've got such great friends, Casto. No matter what, they look out for you, and they make sure you survive. It's a wonder, isn't it? How, through all of this, most of us are still standing. They may have our bodies, and our emotions, but they will never take our souls._'

She closed the door and headed for the bathroom. She almost got to opening the door when she heard an elegant female voice call out, "Ikuko, it's Sailor Pluto."

"Huh? That woman from the hospital?"

"Yes. I'm surprised that you didn't mind Mina being there with Casto in the room. I thought you would've been shocked to see them there when you didn't know they were here."

"They're welcome into my house at any time."

"I don't know so much about that anymore, Ikuko. You seem to have become frustrated over misconceptions that you need physical power to stop your enemies."

"How do you know that? And where are you?"

Pluto appeared in a holographic image in front of Ikuko. "I can't say where I am, but I can tell you that I know because I can see your future, Ikuko."

"M-My future?"

"It's not set in stone, and you still have time to change it if you so desire, but I advise you to not take the road you seem to want to travel. I can't guarantee the results will be desirable to many of your peers."

"Why does that matter to you, Miss Pluto? You said it wasn't set in stone, and I want to be able to protect them."

"I know you do, Ikuko. But trust me, I can see things that you don't think I would be able to see."

Ikuko gasped slightly and looked towards her bedroom. "Do you know...about...?"

"Please, Ikuko, don't do anything that you will regret. I know it seems like a good idea, and sometimes it seems like the only option, but trust me, it will change nothing except how people think of you. Serena doesn't need that, and neither does Casto. Your friends are there for you to help you."

"I don't want to have to depend on them whenever Rubeus wants to attack my home! Can't you see that?"

"Yes, Ikuko, I do see it. You have no idea how much I know about your plans."

"No! You only think you do. I have to protect myself somehow, and if that means blowing out someone's..."

"No, Ikuko! Don't talk like that."

"But it's what I want. I don't give a shit if it's not something you approve of, Miss Congeniality, but this is _my_ family, these are _my_ friends, and this is _my_ goddamned home, and I will be damned if I'm going to sit and let some asshole take advantage of me. Your concern is noted, Glorious One, but I'm protecting the people I hold dear to me, and I don't think you understand what I'm going through right..."

"_LIKE HELL I DON'T_!"

Shock came over both Ikuko and Pluto. Moreso from Pluto, as she didn't even know she had it in her to scream like she had, or that she even lost her temper. Nonetheless, Pluto continued, "Those are _my_ friends, too. Casto and I used to be something more than friends. If anything happened to him, then I would tear apart the person responsible. Trust me, Ikuko, I want to put my foot up Rubeus' ass as much as you do."

"P-Pluto? Are you really...?"

Pluto realized her words quickly after she heard Ikuko ask her about them. "I-I'm sorry, Ikuko. It's not like me to curse like that. I didn't mean to lose my temper, but it's not like me to just let someone...no, I shouldn't even do that, either."

"Do what?"

"Tell you what will happen in your future if you use that gun."

Ikuko's back collapsed on the wall, and she allowed herself to slide down onto her bottom. "So you _do_ know?"

"Like I said, I know more than you think I do."

"Then you know what will happen if anyone tries to invade my home again, do you?"

"I know what you're planning, Ikuko. I can't tell you what will happen, but it's not something you want."

"Would you scream at me again if I said I didn't care what happened to me as a result?"

"I don't want to have to, but I care too much about the people you're trying to protect. If something happened to you as a result of you carrying out your intentions, who else will there be to protect your family and friends?"

"How _can_ I protect myself, then?"

"Sometimes the strongest person is the one who doesn't even have to carry a sword. Ikuko, I can't stop you from doing what you want to do if that is your decision. All I can do at the moment is tell you what could happen as a result, and plead to you to please find another option. At the very least, save it until you have no other option."

"I...I..." Ikuko shook her head and rubbed her eyes violently before groaning. "Would you really _want_ to put your foot up his ass if you had the opportunity?"

"Well, I would want to, but I don't think Casto would've liked me doing that, if you know what I mean." Pluto let out a small giggle after.

"I don't think I..._ohh_. Interesting! You mean you and him...?"

"Never went all the way, but we had some fun. Can't believe a normal human is making me show this side or letting me talk about my...ahem..._other_ life."

"You're very pretty, though, Pluto. Why did he not want to stay with someone like you?"

"It wasn't meant to be. It's a long story. One that I'm afraid I don't have time to tell right now. All this talk made me forget why I came to you in the first place."

"Huh?"

Pluto cleared her throat before continuing. "I think I saw Rubeus open up some sort of portal for Serena to go through."

"A _what_?"

"We need to wake them. What I feared is actually happening. I didn't think he would really try it, but..."

"What is he doing to my daughter? Please, tell me!"

"Wake everyone up first, and then I can tell all of you of what I saw him doing."

With a nod, Ikuko jumped to her feet and raced down the steps.

Pluto's image looked in towards Casto and Mina. She sighed deeply as she felt a small tear escape her. "If only you knew how much I still love you, Casto. You always knew how to make someone feel wanted. I still need you."

**-xXXXXx-**

All of the girls, Darien and Casto circled around the coffee table in the living room as Pluto's image hovered above it.

"A portal?" Lita asked. "This can't be good."

"Not at all, Sailors," Trista answered. "In fact, this is urgent. We need to act now and find where this portal is."

"Wait," Melissa ordered. "You mean you know a portal is opened, but you don't know where it is?"

"Rubeus must have a way to keep anyone from finding it. Either that or something is interfering with the sensors. He must know I'm looking for him, too."

"Serena is going to not even consider that she's walking into a damn trap," Raye growled. "We have to find where he opened it."

"We can split up again," Amy suggested. "We'll cover..."

"_Hell_ no we are not!" Melissa yelled. "We nearly lost Luna the last time we did that, and in case no one is keeping score, that makes about ten or eleven times we've cheated death one way or another. The way we've been going, we're lucky that Reenie is the only one we've lost."

"Melissa's correct," Pluto agreed. "You all should stick together. I am trying to find out if he has any Youma looking for you, as well. I've seen how smart he has become since forming his alliance with Metaria. You will need to be especially careful. He will be expecting resistance."

"But we can't afford for him to lure Serena in," Raye pleaded.

"Yes, you are correct. This is what makes the decision such a tough one to make. Either option we choose will have huge risks. We're also at a discreet disadvantage. We don't know where he opened it, but he does."

"Hold on, Pluto," Mina interrupted. "You know he opened it. How do you know this?"

"I can sense his energy somewhere around Juuban, but I can't pinpoint the exact location."

"Any kind of region? Like, can you say where the energy is the strongest?"

"It's so vague; the entire city seems to be the hottest spot. There's no one area around Juuban that would be stronger."

"So, in other words," Amy answered, "we're shooting blindly. It's a guessing game."

"Hold on," Darien said. "It can't be _that_ covered up. I know he's been getting smarter, but he's been getting a lot greedier recently. Just as Serena is letting her anger cloud her judgment, he's letting his aggressiveness control him."

"I'm not sure I follow you, Darien," Melissa replied. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Remember when we were complaining all the time about how he never chooses any new targets? He always goes back to the same places. Maybe if we remember where he has attacked us or our loved ones, we will have a better chance at finding where he opened this portal."

"That's no guarantee, though, Darien," Casto objected. "Remember what Pluto said. He may have thought of something new."

"It's better than nothing, though," Melissa said as she grabbed her communicator. "Pluto, are you _sure _that you can't tell us anything about this energy other than the fact that it is in Juuban? You're sure you can't pinpoint this any further than that?"

"I'm trying my best," the elegant Sailor answered. "Again, I don't know why I cannot sense anything further."

"Science can sometimes do things magic cannot. What is the signature you're sensing? Is there any way to tell me that?"

"Signature?"

"Some kind of signal to tell us that it is indeed him. I may be able to do some scanning from here."

Pluto waved her Garnet Rod out in front of her, and the group immediately heard a loud series of beeps coming from Melissa's device. "There! I'm afraid that's the best I can do from here. I am also trying to find a way to traverse across the realms into your world to help you further. I will need some more time before I am able to know for sure if it is possible. It is both a magical hurdle as much as it is a political one from here. Neo-Queen Serenity may not appreciate if I shy away from my duty at the Time Gate."

Melissa was half listening to Pluto as she was pressing buttons. It was a minute later that she got a definite response. "Very clever, Rubeus!"

"Huh?" Lita hummed.

"Here's the reason _why_ Pluto can't find the spot."

Melissa turned the communicator around so all could see. There was a map of Juuban, with several red blips around the city. There were lines all around, as if it was a connect the dots puzzle, and the lines were pulsating a soft neon orange hue.

"What the hell?" Casto exclaimed.

Amy bugged her eyes with pure astonishment. "My lord!"

Melissa nodded before she began explaining. "Those blips are all places where a dimensional rift has been set. I know because of what is used to make them."

"It's from the Dark Kingdom?"

"Exactly, Lita! Before I was able to perfect teleportation with the tiara I had to wear, I had to use the dimensional rifts, the same ones Rubeus is using now, to go from one place to the other. Thing is, they aren't that easy to use, or at least they were buggy when I had to use them. But whenever they are set, they can cause a disturbance with magic. Think of it as a sort of anti-magic mechanism that doubles as a portal."

Amy continued to look at the monitor. "If several of these things were scattered across Juuban, then..."

"It would create an anti-magic field. Whoever was trying to track these things using magic would know they were there, but it would create such a disturbance that they couldn't even begin to know where it was, or that there were more than one lying around."

"How do we get rid of them, then?" Casto asked.

"Well, thankfully, science wins again. Like I said, these things are buggy, and though I can see Rubeus has been able to work out the kinks in the anti-magic field, the jamming systems are still shot to hell. Plus, the anti-magic field only applies to finding them. Once we _find _them, any normal attack will destroy them."

"So, how do we know which one Rubeus opened?" Raye questioned. "All this talk about what they are, but we need to know which one Rubeus is heading for."

"Well, he just set them up some time ago. Unless he found a way to get them to work right after he set them, they will take a few hours for them to start using."

"Actually, Melissa," Pluto answered, "I felt this an hour ago."

"An hour before you began talking to Ikuko?"

"Yes."

"Shit! This thing has no clear answer to exactly when they were set. It only reads that they were set recently."

"So," Casto proclaimed, "we find these things, and destroy them before he has a chance to use them."

"Not that easy, Casto. I don't know how many of these things he can still set. One can carry several of these portal generators around, since they are so small."

"Yes," Pluto agreed. "And remember, too, that Rubeus may be expecting you to go after each one."

"A goddamned trap ready if we try to destroy them," Lita growled. "We can't take that risk because God knows what he could be setting, but we don't have much time to worry about something we have to be worried about. I guess this is going to be harder than..."

"You gotta be shittin' me!"

"Melissa?"

"One of them is set right where we tried to lure Rubeus earlier. If that one was set that long ago, then..."

"From what you said," Raye replied, "that one is just about ready to be used."

"That's _gotta_ be why I felt Rubeus nearby when we tried to lure him in. He was setting one of these. My God, and I'm the one who was bitching at all of you for not seeing the third page on the Hizrounswa. How did I not...?"

"Where's the exact location?"

"About a mile south of where you were walking to, Raye, wherever you were headed."

"The Sky Limit Cafe. That was where me and Casto were when we heard Drillbit terrorize people. I thought maybe he would try to sneak up on us."

"Makes some sense," Casto said. "Since it's somewhat far away, he's _not_ expecting us to look there."

"I just thought of something else," Darien interjected. "Pluto only felt the general signature. Who knows when these were set? They could all be ready to be opened."

"How could I have not known he would...?"

Lita walked over to Melissa and put her hand on her shoulder. "Melissa, no one's accusing you of anything. Don't worry."

"It's not that. If anything happens to Serena, it's me that is to blame. I never told anyone about these things, and I knew so much about them. I never thought in a million years that Rubeus would actually try using them."

"You can't beat yourself up for something that you can't do anything about now, Melissa," Pluto agreed. "I'm only involved in seeing the future, and there's a reason for that. I would rather look towards the future than dwell on the past. Whatever you did in the past, you must try to put aside. I believe in you, Melissa, but you need to look towards what you can do to correct whatever mistakes you believe you made."

"You're right, Pluto. I need to stop crying and bitching about the past. I've cut that off from my life. I'm growing a new legacy right now. I will protect that girl with my life."

"_There_ we go," Lita cheered.

"I'm with you on that, Melissa," Mina exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.

As the rest of the group stood with Melissa, she could only smile and nod. "Thank you. I know not all of you trust me completely, but I really don't care right now, as long as you believe that I would protect Serena. Not just because she's the Moon Princess, but because she's my friend; _our _friend!"

"Should we wake Luna and Artemis?" Lita asked.

"Let them sleep. Artemis is still tending to Luna, and I don't know how bad her wounds are still. Were they still in her room, Casto?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine in Serena's room. Didn't even know they came into the room last night. I thought the door was locked."

"Me too, but in any case, let's go! No time to lose."

The others nodded as Melissa began to bolt out the front door. However, when she opened the door, she was instead greeted by, "Melvin?"

"What the hell?" Casto gasped.

"C-Casto?" Melvin replied as he adjusted he glasses.

"What are you doing here this early in the morning?"

"Something weird opened up just a few blocks from my house. Looked like one of those things off of a science fiction movie or something. Black and purple swirls were inside of it."

"My God!" Melissa cried. "That's one of those portal generators."

"Hold on, Melissa," Casto interrupted. "Melvin, why did you think to come _here_, then?"

"Because, I thought that you would know the most about it."

"Why me?"

Melvin swallowed hard before continuing, "Because, you saved my life so many times, and I don't have any way to repay you."

"How do you know that I saved...?" Casto suddenly gasped loudly and took a few steps back. He slowly took out his Vulture Medal that had been tucked underneath his shirt.

"Don't worry. I didn't tell anyone. It was too obvious, with the way you protected me as Casto, and then as Sailor Vulture. Please, Casto, I hope you're not angry at me. I really enjoyed your company. I've never hit it off with anyone as friends as quickly."

"Mel, you're being silly. I'm not angry. I'm shocked, but not angry. I just hope it won't escape your lips."

"I know, I'm all about gossip, but that is one thing I'm taking to my grave."

Melissa nodded as she tried to change the subject as she looked to her communicator. "I think I see it, and there's a stronger reading there. It's about some blocks north of the school. We have to get there!"

"What about the one by the Sky Limit?" Raye asked.

"That's the good news about this: I now know how to tell when one is opened. It's stronger than the others. At least we'll know which ones we need to get to urgently. Melvin, thank you so much. You have no idea how much that just helped us."

"Stay here until we come back, Mel," Casto said. "I guess you can aquatint yourself with Pluto, since we'll have to kill you later." Casto chuckled a bit as he exited with the others.

As Melvin closed the door, he heard a faint giggle behind him and a voice call out, "He still even has that weird sense of humor I love."

Melvin walked into the living room to see a tall, elegant female hovering over the coffee table. "You must be that Pluto woman he was just telling me about."

"The one and only."

"I didn't mean to say that I knew about Casto."

"It would've come out at some point."

"I'm not going to reveal something like that about my best friend to the world, though."

"I know you won't."

"Why? Because you're gonna murder me if I do?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Melvin shot down into the couch as he heard Pluto's sly remark. "Wait a sec..."

"Just kidding. I just can sense that you want to be true to your word. I know you want to help him."

Melvin stopped cowering in the couch, but looked to the door. "He's done so much for me. Like I said, no one has ever tried to befriend me before. I've always had to be the one to confront others."

"That's just how Casto is."

"You know him?"

"Yes. Though I know a lot of your friends, I know about Casto especially."

Melvin collapsed his arms onto his knees as he looked down at the floor. "I just wish I could be of more help to them somehow."

"You're doing all they need you to do: show them support."

"I want to do more than..."

Pluto could see Melvin's eyes light up suddenly. "Melvin? What wrong?"

"I know a lot about the internet. I know a lot about stuff like that thing Melissa was using, and I never used anything like that before. I know a lot about science, and I hear a lot of inside stories."

"Melvin?"

"Pluto, was it?" He received a nod in response. "You think they could..."

"M-Melvin?" they heard Sammy utter from the steps.

Melvin jumped over the love seat to see him rubbing his eyes. He also saw Ikuko standing next to him.

"I thought your dad..." Ikuko began.

"He said it was okay. He's been watching that hearing on television, and he's becoming more and more confused about who Mister Koa is."

"What's going on?" Sammy asked.

"Sammy, do you have a computer?"

"I do, yes."

"Internet?"

"Yes, we do," Ikuko answered. "But why? And shouldn't you be resting those wounds, anyway?"

"Yeah, Mel," Sammy added. "We heard you got pretty messed up the other day."

"I'll be okay. But I need to use your computer."

"How come?"

Melvin looked back to Sailor Pluto for a moment before peering back at Sammy. "I believe I've got a way we can help the Sailors. Please, Sammy, do you mind?"

"As long as my mom says."

"Of course, Melvin." Ikuko's eyes were narrowed. '_Indirect power? Could this be what Pluto was talking about?_'

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa had outraced the rest of the Sailors to a small alley which nearly marked the halfway point between the school and Melvin's house. She quickly discovered that Melvin didn't have that far at all to walk to get to the school, and that anyone that was at the school at this time could've easily seen the same thing she saw: a dark, swirling image that was wide and high enough for someone or something to walk through. She saw a few scraps be drawn into the void, as well. She could also see why Melvin could see it easily from his house: the alley was only contained by two brick walls that were separating it from grassy areas.

"And Pluto said you were getting smarter, Rubeus."

As she looked around the alley, she saw the other Sailors finally catching up. They saw the same thing that Melissa saw.

"Woah!" Jupiter gasped.

"_That's_ the portal thing you were telling us about?" Mars asked.

"Yes, but I only see the portal," Melissa answered. "I don't see the generator anywhere."

"Can't be that far," Mercury said. "There isn't much to this alley."

"Got that right, Miss Know It All!" they heard as a shot was fired. Melissa shoved Mercury out of the way, nearly dodging the shot herself. Mercury collided with the wall hard as she fell face first on the concrete. Melissa growled as Rubeus jumped down behind the Sailors. He had the now familiar gun in one hand, and a small spherical object in the other. The metallic sphere was pulsating purple all around the chrome. "Welcome to your graves, Sailors!"

"Generic line coming from a loser like you, douchebag!" Melissa snorted.

"Funny! I don't think you have any room to talk, do you, Queen Bitch? I mean, look at you. You're all ready to defend these low lives that don't even care for your pathetic ass."

"_I_ care, Rubeus," Casto objected. "In case you didn't know it by now, we'll protect everyone."

"You certainly fooled me! Can't protect Reenie, can't protect yourself, or your sister. What's next?"

"How about I kill you right now, Rubeus? Speaking of my sister, where is she?"

"Why do you think_ I_ know where that flaky slut is, huh? I don't keep tabs on some bloodthirsty, psychotic bitch just for you! Who do you think I am?"

"You want me to answer that?"

"Heh! Like it will matter soon, anyway."

The Sailors saw him tighten his grip on the sphere, and the void's vacuum effect strengthening.

"The hell is he doing?" Vulture asked.

**-xXXXXx-**

Melvin was ecstatic to help Sammy get his computer hooked up. Yes, they had one, and yes, they had internet. Trouble was, Sammy really didn't know how to even hook it up, as they had gotten everything only two days prior to the family being attacked by Rubeus. They had yet to be able to even think about hiring a technician to install all the necessities to get what they were paying for.

As Melvin continued to fumble with the wires to hook up the monitor to the tower, he heard Ikuko say, "Wow! I knew you were a smart one, but..."

"It's nothing, Ikuko. Once you do it the first time, you get the hang of doing these things. Sammy, that blue wire, please."

Sammy handed him what looked like a phone wire. "What is that thing, anyway?"

"For the internet hookup. That's the last thing I need. For now, anyway."

"For now?"

Melvin's head finally came up from under the desk as he faced Sammy. "Yeah! I'll have to boot this thing up before I can add some extra flare to your internet."

"Umm," Ikuko said with concern, "extra..._flare_?"

"Well, this internet is going to be somewhat slow for what I want to try to do. Sammy, didn't you say that Casto gave you some sort of device to communicate with him?"

"Yes, but..."

As Melvin booted up the computer, he smirked evilly. "That's not its only purpose. Even Casto didn't know all it could do. That's going to give us the flare. After I do this, you'll never be dialing up for the internet again."

"I hope you know what you're doing, though," Ikuko pleaded.

"You mean hacking the internet? Hell yes, I know what I'm doing. This computer can handle it, too. I already did it to my laptop."

"You have one?"

"Oh, yeah, and you should see it. If this works, then I can help them at any time."

"Will they want the help?"

Melvin gave a look of confidence, though he answered with, "We'll soon find out." He looked back to the computer. "Okay, Sammy, it's showtime."

**-xXXXXx-**

Rubeus continued to tighten his grip on the sphere.

"What is he doing?" Amy asked.

"I don't know," Jupiter answered, "but I don't know why we're standing here to find out." She lunged after Rubeus, ready to deliver a swift punch to his face.

However, he countered by smacking her in the face with the gun. "You're kidding me, right? You would actually be _that_ dumb?"

With a heavy snarl, Vulture widened his stance. "Vulture! Att...!"

"Casto! Casto! It's Melvin! Don't strike him!"

"What in the hell?" Vulture retrieved his communicator and flipped it open. He saw Melvin on the other end, from within Sammy's room. "Mel! What are you doing? How are you able to...?"

"I'll explain later. I know where you are. He's holding what's causing that thing to open behind you."

"The portal generator," Melissa answered.

"Don't do anything brash. Get that generator first."

"You should listen to the kid, Vulture Amateur!" Rubeus threw the ball towards the portal and shot it with his gun. The shot caused the entire portal to begin sucking in an extreme amount of wind, and the Sailors struggled to even hold their footing. They lost sight of the generator, though they had no time to look for it, as they were trying to keep their feet on the ground.

"Seems you should've listened to him! Too bad you'll never know how he hacked your shit, since you're about to go straight to _hell_!" He pounced away with a loud cackle.

"Damn it!" Jupiter screamed. "It _was_ a trap!"

"And we're going right into it!" Melissa panicked as she suddenly had flashbacks of her vision with Grandpa. '_The shadow. I feel so weak to stop it. I want to stop it. Please, let me be able to stop it._'

* * *

Please review if possible. Good night and good luck.


	5. The Thin Line

THE END OF INNOCENCE  
CHAPTER 5  
The Thin Line

Written by Darkpower  
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)

* * *

The Sailors were in a tight situation. Rubeus left them for dead after shooting what they were told was the portal generator, which wasn't any bigger than a golf ball. The black and purple swirling void window was drawing them in with supreme force. At this rate, they were lucky that they were still on their feet, though they were slowly being drawn in, and they didn't know how to stop it.

As they continued to be dragged into the void, Melissa began seeing flashbacks. She could remember her vision with Raye's Grandpa, and when the shadowy blob that she saw suddenly picked her up. She couldn't do anything to stop it from drawing her in. She felt powerless now, just as she was in the vision. Only this time, her feet were on the ground, where they needed to be in order for her to make some stand. That is, if only she knew what type of stand to make.

"It's right near the portal itself," they heard a young male voice call out. "To the right of it!"

"How do you know that, Melvin?" Vulture yelled above the howling wind.

"I can see it," the boy who had somehow hacked into the Sailor communications said. "Right in front of you!"

"He's right!" Venus yelled. "I see it! We need to destroy it!"

"Metal alloy," Melvin answered. "It shouldn't take too much to destroy it, though I don't know about the portal!"

Melissa growled as she moved to the center of the narrow alley they were in, and stopped bracing the wind. "Take me in! C'mon!"

"Melissa, _no_!" Casto screamed. "Please, no!"

She had no words, though, as she raised her arms, one at a time as purple energy formed within her hands. "Hang on, Sailors! I don't know what this is going to do to it, but we can't just stand here and let this damn thing swallow us whole!" '_Please, let this work. I need to save them. I WANT to save them._' "Shadow! Wave! _STRIKE_!"

The attack was both fast and fierce, and it hit the portal dead on. The generator that they found laying right in front on the void went into the portal. The generator appeared to explode within the void as it disappeared. Melissa looked on at where the void used to be for a few more seconds before she began feeling feint. She collapsed and hit the concrete.

**-xXXXXx-**

"She'll be fine, Casto," she heard someone say. She couldn't make out the voice, but it was one that she knew she could trust.

"What move was that?" she heard another female ask.

"She called it the Shadow Wave."

"It had to have taken a lot out of her if it caused her to faint."

'_Who are these voices?_' she thought as she tried to open her eyes. '_Please let them be the Sailors._'

"You think that was something she could use in the Dark Kingdom, too?" she heard a voice that sounded like Raye's ask.

"Could've been, but it seems as though it was inherited," she heard a male voice say. She knew that wasn't Casto. "She talked about the tiara she had to use to get some of her other powers."

"Just having that power, though, without needing something special?"

"Saved our asses, didn't it?" That voice was very comforting. She now knew it was those she trusted, since that was indeed Lita's voice she heard.

"I think using them takes a lot of her power," the male voice said. It had to be Darien. "Good thing I was able to know you were in danger and abort finding Serena."

'_She...wasn't there?_'

"I was worried that she would've already walked through the portal, but something tells me otherwise."

"By the way, Mel," she heard another male voice begin. That was indeed Casto. The kindness in the bold voice gave it away to her. "How did you get in contact with us? You told us the basics, but I'm still lost on the details."

"That's something I need to talk to her about, as well, once she comes to."

'_Melvin! You're a brave kid. Braver than I thought you were._' She could see something fuzzy begin to show in her eyes. This was followed by a bright hit of the sun. That was what finally woke her up in Sammy's room. She was never in here before, though she could tell just by where she was in the bedroom, and what she saw when she looked out the window: the street.

"Melissa!" Darien cheered.

"There she is. The sleeping beauty is finally awake," Mina said happily.

"H-How long was I...?"

"A few hours," Melvin answered as he walked over to her. "Don't worry. We didn't do any experiments on you...yet!"

"Good to hear," she said with a slight chuckle before looking up at the ceiling again.

"Do you remember anything that happened before you fainted?"

"I did my Shadow Wave on that portal, and then...ugh!" She held her head as she winced.

"Take it easy, Melissa. All the energy you used to destroy the portal made you just collapse. I'm surprised you exerted that much."

"M-Melvin! H-How do you know...?"

"He explained some of it to us while you were asleep," Amy answered. "He told us he is able to look at our communicators through the internet."

"Yeah," Melvin answered. "That thing Casto gave Sammy to communicate with him can be used to not only boost the internet speed, but also, because of how Casto was able to program it, to tap into the communicators and see where everyone was, and what information was on their comms."

"Sounds like spying on us to me," Melissa groaned. "Though I'm glad you were able to tell us how to kill that thing."

"So you _do_ remember that!"

"Yeah! It's starting to come back to me now..._wait_!" Melissa shot up in the bed. "What about Serena?"

"She didn't go into the portal," Casto answered.

"Any others open?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Melvin said. "I was able to find out what you meant about the energy signatures. From your map, I was able to relay all the information into this computer. Though I would need my laptop to be able to use it to the fullest extent." He knelt down at the bed. "I'm sorry, Melissa. I didn't mean for it to look like I was spying on you. But I want to be of some help to you and to your friends. Especially you and Casto."

"No, don't worry about it, Mel. Usually I don't approve of spying, but I'm putting my beliefs aside for some things lately. I would sound like a hypocrite if I scold you for doing something I'm not doing that good of practicing myself."

"Well, sadly, this whole thing is just the beginning. It's just something I came up with real quick. I would have to do some more to really have something going here. My biggest concern was that you didn't want me to help you."

"We could use it, though," Amy said. "Maybe we could use it now."

"Ames?" Lita asked.

"Melvin, you said you have that map of where the portals are on that computer, right?" Amy saw a nod out of Melvin. "And you said that you can contact us through that computer to any of us, correct?" She got another nod. "I got an idea. Maybe we can split up after all."

"No," Melissa objected.

"Hear me out! Melvin has all of this and can see us and speak to us. We had issues last time we tried to split up. It caused Luna to get assaulted. But with Melvin helping us, we can have him keep an eye out on everyone. That way, if one of us gets attacked, we'll know about it immediately."

"I can do that," Melvin answered. "Well, that and more. I don't know if this will work or not, but Rubeus did a lot for me by showing his face there when he did. I know what his signature looks like, and I can see if I can pinpoint where he is, but it's going to take some time to triangulate his exact location and track him, and I can't guarantee that it'll come up at all."

"Wait, I think I know what you're thinking of," Raye said. "Luna used to talk about some sort of Central Control."

"Wasn't that revealed to be Artemis?" Lita asked.

"Yes, but you see, now Central Control really exists. Just with someone new at the helm."

"Melvin, being the Central Control guy?" Mina questioned. "This is something I may need to get used to." She pushed herself up and walked out of the room somberly, shutting the door behind her.

"What's wrong with her?" Lita said with narrow eyes.

"Don't know," Casto answered. "I could find out..."

"No. I think we should leave her alone right now. Whatever she's upset about, it's bothering her enough for her to not even say anything to us that anything was wrong."

Outside of the room, Mina walked slowly over to Serena's bedroom. As she opened the door, she saw Artemis tending to Luna, who has seemly fallen asleep once more.

"Is she okay, Artemis?" Mina whispered.

"I don't know for sure. I asked her to come up here with me and sleep up here so we would be out of their way, though I also wanted to see if she could walk the way she was before she was hit. She was walking gingerly, but she was fine at that point. But she hasn't woken up yet. She's breathing, but I can't find any other sign that she's alive."

"No," Mina gasped quietly. "Why her?"

"Mina," Artemis continued as he jumped down onto the floor. "Whatever Melvin was doing now. Is that going to be a sort of..."

"It's a new version of the Central Control. At least that's what we're calling it."

"Maybe it's a sign that we are not as needed as we once was?"

Mina's eyes took a somber look. "No way, Artemis. You and Luna are the life and blood of the Sailors."

"We don't feel like it as much, Mina. We've barely been of any help, and we want to be able to help you, but Luna is in some bad shape, and I don't know if she is going to wake up."

"She will!" Mina yelled with what could've been fake optimism. "I'm sure of it. And you have to stop thinking like that, Artemis. We do need you. We need all of you. I'm worried for Luna, but I'm sure she is going to be okay."

Artemis jumped back onto the bed and curled himself up against Luna. "Don't worry, Luna. We'll be here when you wake up..._if_ you wake up."

Mina smiled as she closed the door. However, the smile disappeared the second she closed it, feeling her tears come down. "Luna, I hope I'm right. Melissa's correct: we've dodged so many bullets lately. We should all be dead right now, but the important thing is that we are still standing. We need another miracle."

**-xXXXXx-**

Tato Gumpi was driving as fast as he could without breaking any speed limits across mountainous terrain and through several cities to get to Hiroshima. He was on one of the side roads right now, and though there wasn't any traffic on the road, the reduced speed restriction left him wondering if it would still be daylight by the time he got there.

As he continued to drive, he took out the slip of paper that he got from City Hall earlier. When he got the message from Orno Malari that detective Noriko Masa would indeed meet him when he arrived, he was also given the location of where she would meet him. By Malari's advice, the paper he got was photocopied and the original put back into its file.

"To think that I'm going all the way down to Hiroshima to find out something about someone from Juuban," he said to himself. "A hundred plus miles to and another back to find out this information. I just hope this is worth it."

He turned on the radio and put it on USJapan FM, the American music station. He needed something to keep his cool while he drove. Instead, however, he got the morning show's hosts.

"Takado back with you on the Early Bird," the male host who sounded like he was still waking up began, "and I have to tell you about this hearing that has been going on with Patricia Haruna. There are reports-well, make that rumors because nothing has been confirmed-that she is going to be getting some defense today."

"About time that woman got a fair trial," the female host responded. "She been getting hammered left and right by that panel."

"Tell me about it, Sataormi. Sure looks like a trial from what they've been putting her through. Did you hear about yesterday's proceedings? About how this sub was telling the panel why she wasn't cut out to be a teacher?"

"Harold Koa?" a third, higher pitched male host answered. "Yeah, I heard about him, but nothing anyone says about him has ever been proven. And you know the government in and around Tokyo recently. They really don't care that much what happens to the city anymore."

"Now Tolkiro," Sataromi responded, "you know that they have to be trying their best."

"Not when they have five million yen that just disappears without a trace," Gumpi answered to himself.

"Well, Tokyo needs to follow Hiroshima's example," Tolkiro continued. "They have been keeping _that_ city up and running without any complaints for the longest time."

"They probably have a lot of money to spend, too," Takado rejected. "Remember, the economy was reported to not be that good in Tokyo right now, and some people have been wondering where the money is going."

"And plus," Sataromi added, "look what happened in Hiroshima. They have that Memorial Park and all the artifacts that are a part of the reminder of what happened there. Hard to swallow the fact that they are considered tourist attractions there now instead of reminders of the horrors of nuclear war, but that also drives tourists into the city, then they spend money, and then the city of Hiroshima uses that money where it's needed."

"What about Tokyo's tourist attractions, though?" Tolkiro asked. "It's the national capital, yet Hiroshima's making more money than they are? I find that hard to believe."

"I've been wondering the same thing about Tokyo's money issues, but we'll get to that in the next segment," Takado said, "as I wanted to get back to this hearing. We know the panel wants this Molly girl to testify. She wanted to say something, her mother wouldn't let her, but the head of the panel wants to hear what Molly has to say."

"But that we know. Where does the rumor come in?"

"Well, someone told me, and I can't say who told me because they asked that I not reveal their name, but that someone else _might_ have something else to say about not only Miss Haruna, but also Mister Koa. Word is that it's another student."

"That'll get the attention of the Authority," Sataromi answered sarcastically.

"You think this student will be creditable?"

"I know the student will. Thing is, will _they_ think that? Will they even _care_?"

"Well, they know Molly is going to speak, but they don't know about this other kid, so this will be interesting. On a personal note, I do hope Koa gets his, but that's just me. I don't know what will happen. Maybe they won't say anything at all. Anyway, we'll get to some music next, and then we'll get into the economy situations that I promised Tolkiro we would get into. But I want to dedicate this next song to a caller we had on this program a few days ago. Casto, if you're still listening, and I know you must be, I got a song for you that I know you're going to like."

"That was that American foreign exchange student that sympathized with the situation with Cocilio News, right?"

"Yes, and I got a bone to pick with _them_ over how they've skewed Haruna's name, too, but we'll talk about that, and take your calls about anything we've talked about today after we get to this song. Being an American and all, I bet Casto has heard of Rage Against The Machine. This is something to Cocilio News, as well. It's called Bulls On Parade, on the Early Bird."

Gumpi was thankful that such a song came on, and he found himself singing along with Zack de la Rocha. It was one way to get his mind off of what he needed to do soon. He found himself somewhat surprised that Casto, a name that rang a bell to him, had the song dedicated to him. That was the first time he heard the show's hosts dedicate any song to anyone before.

He looked quickly to his paper with scribblings on it of where and when the meeting was set before thinking to himself, '_Weird, though. They talked about Memorial Park. That's where she wanted to meet me. I guess it the most recognizable place in Hiroshima. I know where that is, at least._'

**-xXXXXx-**

"Mina," Melissa yelled from Sammy's bedroom door, "I believe we've got an open portal!"

She was still somber, with her head back on the wall, barely desiring to move a muscle as her arms were limp to her sides. '_Why should I care? We keep losing, anyway._'

"Mina?"

"Huh?"

"Portal! Open! Need you!"

Mina slowly looked over to Melissa, who was making head motions to get her to move. She slowly, _very_ slowly, pulled herself off of the wall, the second time she had to relinquish the position that she didn't want to have to.

"Something wrong, Mina!"

"Nothing! I'm still tired."

"We all are, Mina. I hope we can get some rest after we find Serena and put an end to this."

'_I just wonder if there will ever be an end._' She walked into the bedroom, where she found Melvin in the middle of pointing something out to someone.

"More energy readings there than anywhere else," Melvin said to Casto.

"You can find that out from here, on that?" Casto asked.

"I was able to download the schematics from Melissa's communicator onto the computer, so I can see what she can see on her comm."

"We would have to get there as soon as we can," Lita proclaimed. "Serena's life depends on it."

"What if it's just another trap, though?" Mina worried.

"That way you communicated with us before, Mel," Casto said. "Could you do that constantly, or was that a lucky break?"

"As far as I know, if I need to, I can get in touch with any of you through here."

"Let's try it. Melvin, let us know if you spot anything suspicious, and let us know right away if you see something, okay?"

"Okay, but remember, Cas. I don't know how well this is going to work. I know my laptop would be able to do a lot more, but this will have to do for now. I just wish I could have Molly's support, but..."

Casto laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, bud. Me and Melissa will do what we can to make sure Molly is taken out of this hell she's going through."

"Wait, Casto," Mina began, "we're not going now, are we?"

"Why shouldn't we?"

"I don't know. I just don't know if I really want to see what we could see. I feel nervous."

"So do I," Melissa answered. "But I'm going anyway. That's _my_ best friend out there, and I'm sure that goes for everyone here. I don't care if you don't want to go, Mina, but I'm going. Casto, ready when you are!" She stormed out the door.

"Melissa, at least wait for me," Casto called out as he raced after her.

The other Sailors began running out the door one at a time, though past Mina, who still had her doubts. '_Casto, I don't know if this is really worth it anymore._' She ran out, despite her wanting to do otherwise.

The last person to leave was Amy. However, as she stopped at the door frame, she looked back towards Melvin. "By the way, Melvin, where did you get those new glasses?"

"Oh, so you noticed. I was wondering when someone was going to ask about them. One of the people who was in that gang that beat me up the other day felt bad for not doing enough to stop them. She said that she wanted me to have them."

"Hmm...they _do_ look nice on you. You can see your eyes now."

"Thanks. The girl said the same about these things, and they are much lighter, too. Though I long for the day that I don't even have to wear them at all anymore."

Amy peered at Melvin as he went back to working with the computer. She left to join the other Sailors.

**-xXXXXx-**

Mai was walking fast. Probably faster than she knew she could, though she knew it was with a purpose. She didn't want to run. That would put her into too much suspicion. Against who, she didn't really know. She didn't exactly care who saw her heading towards the City Hall for the hearing, but there could have been anyone who would've took exception to her going. After all, in her mind, everyone who wanted Miss Haruna gone to make way for Koa were going out of their way to do so. She read about the hearings throughout their proceedings so far, and she knew that they had to have been conspiring against her for a long time. Maybe she wanted to walk fast in order to make sure she got her point in before getting grilled by the many members of the School Authority.

"Hey, Mai," she heard a female's voice. The loud, deep voice of the female was enough to for Mai to know who it was that called for her. As she turned towards the lone tree on the sidewalk, she saw Mokoto, her brunette friend—at least for now—standing there.

"Mokoto? How did you get behind me without me knowing?"

"Oh, I just crossed the street. I'm surprised you didn't see me. I'm almost as tall as you are now, to be honest. How could you miss me?"

Though Mokoto meant that as a sarcastic question, Mai had to bite her tongue. That would've been her chance to say something, though she had every intention to—just not as an answer to Mokoto's question. "It's been a rough few days, Mokoto."

"You mean how you stopped us with laying into that Melvin kid?"

"He was gonna kill him, Mokoto."

"I know, Mai," she answered with a sigh. "Lucky for you, you didn't do anything _to_ him."

"You regret it, too?"

"All he'll ever be good for. I should ask the same thing about Yumee."

That point _was_ her chance that she was wanting to take. "Why do you stay with him, Mokoto? If you know what he does is wrong, and he does all that shit to you and forces to you do things you don't want to do, then why do you put up with it?"

"You don't understand, Mai. I love him."

Mai felt the vile coming up her throat. "_Love _him, Mokoto? What love is it for some man to make you spit on a defenseless kid and make you say that crap?"

"He shows me love. Trust me, Mai."

"So treating you worse than a dog is showing love?"

"I am _not_ a dog to him, Mai! I don't get why you're talking to me like this!"

"Because I've had_ enough_ of this shit, Mokoto! I'm sick to death of the constant bullying, I'm sick of those smelly idiots he hangs around with, and I'm tired of being involved in his petty quests to be some self-centered king of nothing."

"Then why don't you just go away, then?"

Mai tried to hide her gasp. "Because of you, Mokoto! I can't leave you there with him when I know what he does to you!"

"No, Mai! You don't know _shit_, okay? He _loves _me, and he _shows _that to me in more ways than you will ever, _ever_ even experience it! Imagine someone touching you, kissing you, caressing you from head to toe. Imagine someone making you feel wanted. You've never felt like that before, have you? You've never felt like you've wanted to give yourself to someone."

"So it's the sex, is that it? You stay with him because you're guaranteed to get laid every night?"

"Shut up, MaI! That's _not _the reason!"

"Then what _is_ it, then, Mokoto? You make no sense. You just told me you want to ask what worth he'll ever be good for, and now you say that you love him because of how good...ugh, never mind. The thought of him being able to successfully do that to _anyone_ makes me sick."

"Then you don't understand what love is."

"I know what love _isn't_. It _isn't _just the sex. It's more than that. It's when you know you are going to be protected, no matter what. It's when you can see having a family with him. If you ever get knocked up, Mokoto, what kind of father is he going to be to the child?"

"What is this, Mai? Are you a friend, or my mother?"

Mai had to take a deep breath. "I'm a friend to you, yes. But I can't be in this gang anymore. Not after what we did to Melvin."

"You didn't care before when we took care of the trash in the school!"

"Trash, Mokoto? Is that what you think they are?"

"They don't belong here! That Casto kid is something else. We don't need Americans entering our culture and screwing with it."

"Listen to you!" Mai roared. "You're all over the map. First you don't know what you think about Yumee, then you want to have continuous sex with him, then you love him and only him, and now you think those that are not in our group are trash. My God, Mokoto! Do you even know _what_ it is you want, or are you just trying to get me to go away?"

"I _do_ know what I want, and that is Yumee."

"You'd throw away a friendship you've had since the first grade for some lowlife who is going to treat you like shit because he knows he can get away with it!"

"You're no friend to me, Mai! No friend of mine would question my love for Yumee!"

"But you did your...you know what? Forget it! You do whatever the hell you want to do, Mokoto. That is, if you even know. You'll change your mind in the next minute or so, anyway."

Mokoto's blue eyes watched as Mai turned around and walked towards the City Hall. "Yeah, Mai, and don't talk to me again!"

'_You'll have no problem in me doing that, Mokoto,_' Mai thought as she didn't look back.

Mokoto turned around and walked a few inches before being met by Yumee. "Hey, babe! What was that about? I was walking over here to see what was going on with you, and I heard some people screaming at each other."

"It's nothing, Yumee," she answered as she looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah, sure. You know what it was!"

"Me and Mai got into a fight!"

"A...catfight? How much hair did you pull?"

"No, Yumee, you kidder," Mokoto answered with a laugh that could've made people think she was drunk. "No! She wanted me to break up with you."

"Why?"

"She doesn't think you're good enough for me, but I set her straight."

Yumee looked in the same direction Mokoto once did. "She said that to you about me?"

"Yes, she did, and she also said that she didn't want to be in the gang anymore. Good riddance, I say, sweetheart."

Yumee's eyebrows slanted down towards his nose. "Like she _can_ quit! First she keeps us from teaching Melvin a lesson, and now she wants to say that I'm no good and wants to quit? No damn way! I'll show her what I do to quitters!"

Mokoto kept a smile on her face as Yumee kept his arms wrapped around her, but she thought, '_Mai, were you correct? I do love him. You cannot understand this feeling, but at the same time, I don't want him to hurt you. Maybe it is hard for me to know what I really want. Maybe she was right!_'

**-xXXXXx-**

The Sailors were searching for the exact location of the open portal, though even with the added help of a longtime friend, it was not easy.

However, it was the help that Sailor Vulture was depending on as he looked at his communicator. "Melvin, are you sure it's around here?"

"The sensors are going off like mad there," they heard a voice ring out from the communicator. It was Melvin, but his voice through the speaker was not the best in the world. "Unless there's another portal open that wasn't picked up by the radar."

"Rubeus couldn't have improved on the technology that damn quick," Melissa remarked. "It's gotta be one we found."

"I'll see if I can use your schematics to scan the area again, Melissa, but I don't think I'm going to find any others."

"It couldn't be here, though," Mars objected. "This is too close to the Shrine for it to be here."

"I'm only telling you where I see it, Raye. I can't say why it's there."

"I understand. It's just hard to believe that something like that would be near something so holy."

"Remember, Mars," Mercury said, "the technology itself isn't evil. It's the way it's being used that is."

"And if we don't find it soon," Venus added, "then Serena is going to be used for evil, as well."

"Guys," Melvin interrupted, "it's definitely a block away from the Hikawa Shrine. There's someone there, too. It's not Rubeus. Let me...oh, my God!"

"What is it, Mel?" Jupiter asked in a panic.

"It looks like Serena's presence."

"Which way from the Shrine?" Casto yelled.

"Serena's presence seems to be coming from the South end, and that's where I'm getting the disturbances from the portal, too."

"We'll need to scan for Rubeus," they heard Artemis say from the other send. "He can't be far, but we haven't seen him since Melvin set this up."

The Sailors rushed to where Melvin told them she was. They pumped their legs as hard as they could towards a darkened alley that was made between two high rise apartment buildings. The fire escapes were casting shadows from the light of the blaring sun as the Sailors twisted their way through the narrow.

When they turned the first corner, they heard wind being sucked into somewhere. It was the same sound that they heard when they discovered the first portal. However, it was the slight showing of golden hair waving in the same wind from around a second corner that had them convinced that Melvin was right.

It was a sight that Casto didn't want to see, at least where he saw it. "No, sis." He turned the corner, with his friends following him.

They found Sailor Moon staring at the purple and black void, standing stiff with her arms at her sides. She didn't turn to face them, not even once, though she knew they were behind her. The alley was essentially a dead end, though the wind was blowing as if it was a wide open space.

Casto's jaw hung down as he saw his sister look towards the void. For a slight moment, there was complete silence amongst all of them. They wondered if Serena even noticed them, or cared about their presence.

However, a few seconds later, Serena moved her head a centimeter upward. "It's amazing, isn't it?" Her quiet yet bold tone of her voice sent chills down their spines. "This one thing is what separates me from cutting off his head. All my problems, all my sacrifices, will be avenged if I go through this portal and kill that son of a bitch!"

Not one of the Sailors could say anything, as they continued to try to get over their friend's changed tone. "What, are you not going to say anything about how I shouldn't go through with this? Nothing about how I'll regret this decision for the rest of my life? Please, brother, try to convince me to not spill his blood!"

Casto could not answer. Even though he wanted to, he could not find the words. His jaw continued to hang loose, as if his cheek bones were broken.

"Where is he?" She didn't get an answer, and Serena was starting to think that they were deaf. She still did not turn around to see them. "Where's Darien? Did you keep him from coming here again?"

Melissa could not stay silent anymore. Not after hearing that name. "Darien's consulting Sailor Pluto. She said there..."

"Sailor Pluto? So he's already moved on!"

The assumption angered Melissa to the point that she slammed a fist into the building behind her. "_No_! He thinks there's another way to keep you from doing this! I want to kill Rubeus, too, but you're being a goddamned flake about this!"

"You told me about your family. You know full well what I'm going through. Darien would be best without me. It's time that I accept this new me. I want to see his blood on my Tiara. I want him to die. I want to teach everyone who has ever crossed me a lesson to never cross me! Sailor Moon will never be a flake! She will never again be a goddamned pushover. I will no longer let people walk over me. This is the time that I become someone more than just Sailor Moon. I feel different inside."

Casto's tears flowed down his cheeks. "No, sis! What good can come of this? It won't change the fact that Reenie is dead, and if you're not careful, she won't be the only one dead."

"We've dodged too many bullets, Sailor Moon," Melissa added angrily. "Stop this, or I'll stop it."

"_Try_ to, Melissa! I'm tired of people telling me what I can and can't do. Now's your chance, Melissa. You've always wanted him. Go ahead and take Darien. He's going to hate this new me like all of you do. I don't care what you think about me anymore. I'm ready to accept it." She began to walk slowly into the portal.

However, Melissa raised a hand in front of her and shot out one hard-purple energy shot at Moon. To Melissa's amazement, though, Serena pivoted the hardest anyone had ever seen her, dodged the bullet, and shot out a beam of pure energy at Melissa. The shot hit dead on, and made Melissa crash back first into the building.

It was not the shot alone that shocked Melissa and the Sailors, but also the Silver Crystal and what form it now took.

"What the hell?" Vulture asked.

"That's..._red_?" Venus added.

They had seen that Moon's Silver Crystal took on a chuckberry red hue. The shot that flashed in Melissa's face did so, as well.

"Why is it...?" Jupiter began.

"I told you," Moon answered. "It's what I have become, and I like it. I like this new power. The more I battle Rubeus, the more I realize that I'm exactly _like_ him. After I kill Rubeus and put this right for me, I think I'll begin going after the others that did me wrong. Mister Koa, Yumee Machino! They will all suffer the same fate."

'_No,_' Casto thought, '_the corruption and the criminal aspect. Sailor Pluto was correct. The more she faces him, the more she thinks she has to be like him to beat him._' "Serena, please! We think we have a way to bring Reenie back!"

"Shut up, Casto! That isn't going to work. No resurrection ploy will work with me. I will shower the North Pole with red tonight!" She entered the portal, but not before grabbing the sphere that had been keeping it open. It shut behind her, making it impossible for any of them to follow her.

"Damn it!" Jupiter stomped. "What kind of person does she think she's going to be?"

"No damn hero, that's for sure!" Raye answered.

"She's becoming a criminal, just like Pluto warned us would happen," Casto concluded. "We need to stop her somehow."

"Did you hear how she was talking, though?" Mercury asked. "That was creepy. It was as if she was someone else entirely."

"And that red crystal," Melissa added as she returned to her feet. "That's a new one on me, too."

Casto heard his communicator beep just as he was about to answer Melissa. He opened it up the see Melvin there. "Mel, what happened? Why did you go silent?"

"That's what I'm calling you about. I heard what Serena was saying. I never heard her talk like that before, but I also was able to scan that portal that those things make."

"There was no real need to do that, Melvin," Melissa said. "We know all about them."

"All except how to hack them!" The others gasped as Melvin continued, "I'll tell you that in a moment. But we got another problem."

"What is that?"

"We were trying to locate Rubeus, and it seems he knew she was there, too," Artemis said. "Seems as though he's not only gone through a different portal than her, but he was also trying to disable the rest of the portals so we couldn't follow them."

"Serena took that generator with her, too," Venus answered. "That was probably so we couldn't tail her."

"But here's the good news in that," Melvin added. "We're seeing that he had trouble disabling the devices immediately. They are set to shut down, but only within about ten minutes from now."

"How is that good news?" Mercury asked.

"I was able to scan the specifics of that portal generator. If you guys can get to some sort of centralized location, I can use your communicators to possibly locate another one and hack into it before it can shut down, and then you can use it to get to D-Point."

"Woah!" Melissa gasped. "You can do that?"

"I don't know for sure. It'll be worth the attempt."

"Still can't use the Sailor Transport without Serena there," Artemis said. "And I can't find any other way that we could get to D-Point in time. This is the only way."

"Centralized location," Mars pondered. "Wait! The Shrine! It's on a hill. Would that work?"

"As long as you all stay there while I try to locate one...oh, wow! Another one's right near there, too. North side, towards the Tokyo metro."

"C'mon, guys. No time to lose!" Raye's orders were easy for the others to agree to follow her as they made their way to the Shrine.

**-xXXXXx-**

'The third day of Miss Patricia Haruna's hearing will come to order," the army-like head of the School Authority Roku Uematsu called out as he produced a gable and banged it on the table a few times.

'_They actually have a gable to use now_,' Patricia thought as she clenched her ribs, feeling more pain than she felt during the last few days. '_They're right: they think I killed someone._'

Patricia looked behind her as the ambient noise slowly quieted. She did see Miss Baker sitting in the back of the room, though without Molly. '_Please tell me she didn't..._'

"Miss Haruna," Uematsu said as Patricia turned back to face the panel, "who are you looking for?"

"Molly Baker, sir," she answered. "I thought she was going to be allowed to testify today. Why isn't she here?"

"Because," Gloria Baker yelled as she stood up, "she has no right to speak. Like I said yesterday, children have no rights."

"How about the right to be treated with respect and fairness, and to be kept safe and protected, Gloria?"

"You know what I mean, bitch!"

Patricia looked to Miss Hanoi. "You are going to allow _that_ outburst, but say that Darien never had a right the other day?"

"He disrupted the proceedings, Miss Haruna," Hanoi answered. "Gloria was answering a question."

"So was Darien!"

"The hell he was, Patricia. He was never asked anything, yet he felt the need to be in contempt."

"In contempt? This is not a courtroom."

"It's _your_ trial, Patricia. It's _your_ life we have in our hands, as you told us."

"_Teaching_ is my life. It's my passion. Why can't any of you on this panel see that? Do any of you _care_ about the kids that you're going to be affecting by making the decisions you make?"

"If we didn't care, Miss Haruna, we wouldn't be having this trial. Hell, I can safely say that some of us don't care, because if they did, they would've followed _my _suggestion to let you rot in unemployment hell. But, of course, someone _has _to be the bleeding heart liberal that stands up for cowards like you."

"Miss Hanoi," Uematsu said, "you have done nothing but criticize Miss Haruna for everything, and criticize these proceedings ever since we began. I know none of us on here have been perfect, but Patricia has a point in not only Molly not being here, but also about this board. Let me first address Molly's absence. Miss Baker, can you please explain why she is not here, especially when I explicitly asked for her to testify to us about Mister Koa?"

"She needs to be in school today, sir," Gloria said.

"We would've gladly let her make up any work she missed if that was your concern, Gloria."

"She needs to be there in the class to hear the lessons."

"See?" Miss Hanoi answered. "_That's_ what's missing from Miss Haruna. Children need to be in school, and they need to stop finding excuses not to go to school."

"Well, Miss Baker," Uematsu sternly continued, "tomorrow, in these hearings, I'm ordering you to allow Molly to appear. This is a government run entity, and you chose to ignore authority. Whether or not you agree with it, you are obligated to appear and follow the rules if we subpoena you. In a way, Patricia is correct: this is a trial of sorts, and it is classified as such. Miss Baker, we can and we _will_ notify other branches if you prevent us from doing our jobs."

"She needs the..."

Uematsu pounded his gable again. "She needs to tell us the truth. That is all that I will say about that matter. As for the proceedings, Miss Haruna, I'll be making sure everything stays on the up and up from here on out. This does not mean, though, that it'll make it any easier on you to prove your case." As Uematsu continued, the doors in the back of the room swung open, and Mai came into the room and sat at the front of the spectator section. "I have promised you more time to explain your case, and I would appreciate it if we have no other outbursts like we had yesterday. Miss Haruna, if you want to say something to append what you told us yesterday, you have all the time you need."

"Thank you, sir, and you are correct. I feel as though I am being mistreated in this room. I feel as though someone already knows my testimonies before I even think about them. I feel as though someone is trying to kick me out of my job and my passion. It's something that I went to America for three years to be. It's hardly anything Harold has done." She glanced over her shoulder towards Mister Koa, who she noticed narrowed his eyes as she commented on him. "For years, I've tried to convince the School Authority not for him to be a substitute for any of my classes. I would rather my classes be without a teacher than have him in there. I fear that the accusations about his teaching style being too over the top are correct. Think what you want about him, but I do not want to run the risk of any of the pupils that I teach and care about being the subject of another attack coming from him. If you notice, there have been several students fearing having to go to school since he became the substitute. This is because of what he was accused of doing to one student when he was subbing a grade school class. You were the only ones that believed Mister Koa, and yet, to this day, you still see students do so much as walk out of his classes. That's unusual for anyone to do. Even with a teacher they don't like because they enforce the rules, you never see that, especially here in Japan."

"Very well," Uematsu said. "Miss Haruna, I do realize that you're fear about Mister Koa comes from the past. But even if he did assault someone, it's not as if people can't change. We've yet to hear of any other incidents. I personally do not know if it comes from fear of not being heard or because of fear of further issues with him, but the lack of other incidents does hurt the case even further. So far, no other student has come forward."

'_Because of that old bitch sitting there_,' Mai thought as she eyed Miss Hanoi. '_You assholes know damn well she's the real head of this joke of an authority._'

"Well, now we can get into the testimonies of whoever wants to give them. Since we don't have Molly here today, Does anyone have anything they would like to say?"

Like a bullet, Mai shot to her feet with her hand raised high into the air. "Yes, sir! I got something I want to say."

"Who in the Sam Hill is this?" Miss Hanoi asked. "Why is she dressed like that?"

"I'm Mai Yukiko, and I'm a student at Juuban Junior High School."

'_She looks like that girl that stopped that assault on Melvin,_' Mister Koa thought. '_You better not be saying anything, because if you do..._'

"Miss Mai, you can have the floor," Uematsu said as Mai approached the open spot of the room.

"I am aware of Miss Haruna, and what she exemplifies. Let me first tell you that I am far from perfect. In fact, I have no problem admitting that I was part of the gang that attacked Melvin Gurio a few days ago. However, it is that attack that made me rethink who my friends are. More importantly, it made me think about which teacher I would rather have. You see, I stopped my friends, if you could call them that, from doing any more to him. I couldn't stand it. My conscious couldn't take it, and I felt sick to my stomach. I am only in that gang because of a friend I've had since the first grade, and I don't know if I know her anymore. So no, I am not perfect."

"Is that your school uniform, Mai?" Tenio asked.

"Yes, and I know what you'll be asking. Why do I think it's appropriate? I know it is because the principal told me I could. I could never be like anyone else in school. I was always different. I was always the outcast. That was until I met my friend. She's not just my best friend, but my only friend. If Mokoto wasn't there for me, I would be hopeless. But anymore, I feel so lonely because of her being in that gang that I just quit today."

"Miss Mai," Tenio continued, "I commend you for coming clean, but what does this have to do with Patricia."

"It wasn't the first time my former gang threatened anyone. A week prior to our despicable deed, we threatened Casto and Serena. I didn't want to do anything like that, but it seemed as though Yumee, the leader, had other ideas. I heard Mister Koa say something about how he drove past when he saw us pick a fight. What he didn't see was that Miss Haruna broke up the fight. She ordered us to the principal's office, where we were sentenced with the detentions. Of course, my dad couldn't care less, especially with him being a cop, but she was quick to break up the fight, and stood there until she knew the threat was no longer there.

"However, on the day we beat up on Melvin, a strange thing happened."

'_Does she even know I'm going to tear her up in class if she tells about me being there?_' Harold thought.

"While we were beating him up, I looked over and saw Mister Koa standing there, looking over the entire fight. I swore up and down that it was him. I recognized the hair. He never moved from that spot. He saw most of the fight, up until we left. He never once helped him, or even moved to break anything up. No one else was there that could've done anything. He was the only one that had still to leave when he saw it. This was another reason why I broke it up myself. I was hoping someone would've tried to so I didn't have to do so and risk myself getting beat up in consequence, but when Mister Koa began watching, it told me that Yumee wasn't ever going to be stopped."

"Mister Koa, is this true?" Uematsu asked.

Harold, with a heavy sigh, stood up from his seat. "To a point, sir. You see, I was trying to get to my car, and I can be a forgetful person sometimes, so I couldn't remember whether I parked my car in the North lot or the South one. While I was fumbling with my keys, I heard the commotion, and I saw the tail end of the fight. It was a small hole of the wall in which a small body could squeeze through, which isn't something I have, I'm afraid to say. I would have to circle around to get to where I could've done something. However, I didn't have to because Mai was the brave soul that broke up the fight."

"Sir," Mai objected, "it's not just a hole. It's a huge gap. It's not like something that crumbled off. It was as if they didn't feel the need to finish building the wall. It was big enough for Akira to squeeze through, and he has a bigger muscle mass than Mister Koa does."

Uematsu raised an eyebrow. "This is certainly a new..."

"Hey!" they suddenly heard a male scream as he crashed through the doors. "Sorry, but you gotta see this! Some weird dude in the parking garage is staring at this huge hypno-thingie!"

"Hypno-_what_?"

"Come out here and look for yourself!"

Uematsu quickly got up out of his seat and launched himself over the bench to the floor. He scuffled through the audience and through the door. Patricia's curiosity won her over as she, too, exited the room, followed by the majority of the patrons.

**-xXXXXx-**

Outside of the City Hall, across the street and on the bottom floor of a five story parking garage, a man in a dark purple vest and green pants stood in front of what the male described at the "hypno-thingie," unknown to them to be the portal generator producing the purple and black swirling void.

As soon as Patricia joined the others outside the Hall, she took a wide step back and gasped. "That's him! That's the man who...ugh!" She fell to a knee and clenched her ribs.

"Miss Haruna," Mai yelled as she rushed down the steps to help Patricia.

"Thank you, Mai, but I'll be...nrah...fine."

"What do you think that thing is?" Uematsu asked to whoever was listening.

"That's right near my car!" Mister Koa growled.

Inside the garage, the man was clearly Rubeus, who chuckled at the sight of the open void. "So, Sailor Moon, you're taking the one near that useless Shrine. That's just fine. I don't have to be anywhere near you in this shitty city to meet up with you at D-Point. It'll be after I move into this void that I'll be there for you to try to do your worst to me. Doubt you _can_ do anything to me, though. Little do you know what will soon happen once I got you where I want you." He entered the portal, which closed after.

"Damn it," Koa roared. "If he did anything to my car..."

"I'm sure you'll live with it for now," Hanoi joked. "You've gone through worse with it."

"True. I've been more than reckless with that thing, and I'll have to be again. I almost forgot that I took a two period recess to come here. I gotta go before third period starts."

'_Yeah, what a hypocrite you are,_' Mai thought. '_Bitch about people not getting an education, yet you just take recesses whenever you want._'

"You need to be here tomorrow, though, Harold," Uematsu said. "I want to know more about this incident."

'_What in the hell? He'll have more of a chance to make up some lame excuse. You call that fair?_'

"Will do, sir. I would love to tell you some things I know about Mai that will curl your hair."

Mai shot up to her feet. "Like what?"

"I know things about you that you don't even remember. No time to talk, though. I can get there in time if I go now." Without another word, Koa ran across the street and soon sped off in his car.

"What would he know about me that would incriminate me so much?"

"Don't worry about him, Mai," Patricia said. "You did well today. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Miss Haruna, but it's not needed."

"We must reconvene before it gets too late," Uematsu said as he turned back into the Hall building.

As the others began following him, Mai assisted Patricia back to her feet, though the teacher waived off the help. "Thank you, Mai, but I think I can make it." Mai nodded with a smile as the two made their way back into the building.

However, Mai passed Miss Hanoi, who had been watching the entire scene from the door frame of the building. Her facial expression both during the scene and when Mai passed her was one of amazement and wonder. '_So, Harold, you do have something on Mai. If it's what I think you have, then she will be done for before the day is through. That is, if you return today._' She was the final person to walk back towards the hearing room.

**-xXXXXx-**

The Sailors arrived outside the Shrine, where Vulture asked Melvin, "How much time do we have left?"

"Two minutes," his friend answered. "I'm trying to get into the system now. Shouldn't take more than thirty seconds, though I won't know how good of a connection I'll have until I...there we go! Just a bit longer."

"Please hurry, Mel," Melissa panicked. "We need to stop Serena!"

"Still can't get over that we're actually saying that," Mercury said.

"Who's here?" they heard Raye's grandfather ask as he came outside. Melissa could hear him try to hold a cough in.

"Grandpa, you shouldn't be out here now," Raye pleaded.

"I'll," Grandpa said before he released a violent cough, "be okay."

"Bullshit, Gramps," Melissa growled. "Get back in there, now!"

"Melissa!" Raye snarled. "Why are you talking to him...?"

"I'm just catching a cold, that's all," he answered before coughing again.

"Those coughs worry me, Gramps," Melissa said. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't feel well?"

"Because I didn't want you to worry about me."

"You fool! If anything happens to you, then I don't know what I would do. I still need the guidance..."

"It's done!" they heard Melvin say. "We should have full access to it now, and it won't shut down. Let's just hope he doesn't find out about it before we can use it."

"Where is it?" Casto asked.

"About two blocks away. For someone who wanted her to go into the portals with him, he really went out of his way to hide them. I also found that one of them has also now vanished off the map. The one that was in the City Hall Garage is now gone."

"That's probably the one he used," Melissa pointed out. "Hang on, Serena! And Gramps, please take care of yourself. I know you think it's just a cold, but even if it's just that, just take it easy. Please, for me and for Raye!"

'_F-For me? Melissa, you shouldn't be, especially when I'm treating you like..._'

"I'll try," he answered. "This Shrine needs me."

"I can be of some help if you need me, Gramps," Melissa nodded.

"Don't overwork yourself, Melissa. You're helping the Sailors, have a job, and you're also wanting to help with the Shrine now. You might need the rest."

"Just get the rest for now. We'll talk later." Melissa fled towards the generator, with all but Raye following suit.

"Raye!"

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"She's a good person. She means well. And I feel respected with her address of me."

"You..._know_?"

"Don't I always, Raye? No matter how or what I know, the bottom line is that you need to be there for them. Somehow, I think your adventures will be tougher from here on out, and you will be faced with incredible circumstances that will test your character. You must be ready for anything. Now, go with your friends. I can tell you want to trust her, too. You have nothing to fear from her."

Raye sighed heavily. She knew that he had nothing but good intentions, though the more she saw her grandfather as he walked back into the Shrine, the more she didn't agree with his stubbornness, especially when so much more was on the line because of it. Nonetheless, she took a heavy sigh and began her trek to join her friends. However, she had to fight to keep tears from showing as she ran down the hill's steps.

As she turned the corners, she thought, '_Something's wrong with you, Grandpa. That isn't normal. I've heard you catch colds before, and that is something far more. I don't want to...I can't lose you, Grandpa!_'

A minute later, she reached a secluded alley a block away from the Shrine, where Melvin said that the hacked portal would be. Sure enough, it was swirling purple and black in front of the Sailors that she rejoined. Like the one that they saw Sailor Moon go in, there were two tall buildings sandwiching them, but it led to a different street this time.

"Will there be turning back?" Vulture asked Melvin.

"Barring something none of us considered, you should be able to return from the same place you entered from. Just remember what location you start from, and I can get you back. I don't know how long it will be until Rubeus finds out that I hacked the generator, so you will have to find him before he realizes you're there."

"What about Serena, though?" Mercury asked. "She didn't seem to want us to follow her, either."

"Find Rubeus, and we'll find Serena, too," Venus answered. "That's what we thought earlier. This time, it should hold true. She's going after him. So should we!"

"Well, let's go," Jupiter commanded.

"Remember," Artemis said, "first thing's first: get the Hizrounswa from Rubeus. Get it out of that gun. Once you got that, we can get Serena to realize that we have a small chance of bringing Reenie back. But we need that crystal first."

"He might be near or in wherever he's luring her to," Melvin added. "I don't know where that portal will lead, so you'll have to use your senses."

"And where we were at given points," Mars mumbled.

However, Melissa could only listen. She looked to the swirling vortex, becoming mesmerized by the sight. She was also soaking in all of the words that she was hearing. She closed her eyes tightly, and a fist formed at her side. '_The vision. He's luring me back, too. He's not just after Serena. It's so close to her, and if she were able to somehow corrupt me once more, and I were to touched that damned thing, I could prove Raye right._'

"C'mon," Vulture yelled, "no time to lose!"

"Wait!" Melissa ordered. The other Sailors stopped just as they were about to enter. "I'm not going!"

"What?" Mars gasped. "What do you mean?"

"It'll be too much risk for me if I went, too. That crystal has hurt so many lives, and I don't want anyone thinking that I would harm anyone else if I touched it."

"You would be the coward now?" Jupiter growled.

"You're the _perfect_ person to lead us through D-Point," Venus remarked. "We can't do this without you!"

"Yes, you can. And I'm not completely abandoning you. I'll be helping Melvin by being able to get a communication link to D-Point. I'll tell Darien to go in my place, too. He could lead you there, and you trust him far more than you will trust me."

"You're trusted, Me..."

"Hold on, Merc," Vulture interrupted. "I think I know what she means. If she goes, and we defeat Rubeus so he'll somehow surrender the Hizrounswa, then comes another problem. She'll at some point touch the crystal, and remember what we know about those that touch it."

"Yeah, that's right. The knowledge of how to handle it is automatically transferred to the holder."

"And with how some of us are still doubtful about her, she doesn't want that to be a factor when we go. I can see why she would think she would be a distraction."

"So, someone else will touch the crystal," Venus said.

"Who's to say that I wouldn't be tempted to lunge after who had the Hizrounswa? I know I said the truth, but if Metaria were to still want me back, then she will stop at nothing to do that. I made a vow to myself to never go back there, anyway. I'm going to stay true to it." She began walking out of the alley. "I know where this is, and I know how to direct Darien to this spot. I'm sorry, Sailors. I'm sorry to you, Lita, and to you, Casto. I don't want to look like a coward, but if that means that you will have a better chance of beating Rubeus, then so be it." She said no other words as she turned the corner out.

"She would run away now?"

"I understand why," Vulture said softly. "I just wish there was a way to convince her otherwise. She looked like she was disappointed that she wasn't going. Didn't look like she wanted to make that decision."

"We can't stay here and dwell on it, though," Jupiter said. "We'll talk to her when we come back. Let's go!"

"Yeah! We should." Vulture turned around, very slowly, and walked into the vortex with the rest of his clan. It was not before he glanced back with regret written within his eyes.

As she watched from around the corner of the building, though, Melissa let a few tears shed. "No, Casto. I don't want to make such a decision. It's very hard for me to do, but I can't face it again. I don't want to fall for her tricks. I've kept getting reminders about my vision. I don't want to endanger anyone. Not again."

**-xXXXXx-**

Melissa walked slowly through downtown Juuban, trying to keep a poker face. She turned a corner, looking at the peaking sun while trying to keep an eye on where she was walking. The streets were growing busy with traffic, and she knew it was nearing lunch time. Her stomach was growling at her, and with all the cars on the road, she knew that getting a quick lunch was not going to be an easy chore.

She passed by the City Hall, not thinking about anything else besides the situation with the Sailors when she heard a tender voice call out to her, "Hey, aren't you Melissa?"

"Huh?" Melissa looked around, not finding anyone who she thought would have that voice.

"Over here!" the female voice called out again.

This time, she saw her, running down the steps of the Hall. "Patricia?"

"Oh," Miss Haruna said as she stopped at the bottom, right near Melissa, "so you _did_ remember my name?"

"Was I not supposed to remember?"

"You know Juuban anymore. Unless you watch the television, no one remembers a face."

Melissa heard the nervousness in Patricia's laugher. "Don't worry, Patricia. I'm not your enemy."

"No, I know you're not. In fact, I heard about what you did to Harold."

Melissa took a quick step back with widened eyes. "Uhh, Patricia. That was only because..."

"I know I shouldn't wish ill on anyone, but you gave him what he deserved."

"I'm glad I could do you a favor, then."

"Can we talk some more over lunch? I'll buy for you."

"Sure, but you don't have to..."

"Don't worry about it. It's to repay you for putting Harold in his place."

**-xXXXXx-**

The Sky Limit Cafe was the destination, and for Melissa, the choice was easy: hamburger. A huge, meaty, stacked hamburger with the works. This was one of her weaknesses. Patricia got a chef salad, something that Melissa kept eying with thoughts about how one could possibly eat something that leafy. Melissa could eat a lot, though she didn't know how she kept her slim figure through all of her stay at D-Point. A window seat near the front door provided the perfect setting.

"So, I take it you don't like this Mister Koa person, either," Melissa said.

"Not at all. I kept trying to tell the School Authority not to sub him in my classes, though you see how well they've listened to me."

"All I did was run into him on my way to the park, and I knew he was bad news."

"He's been accused of hitting a student, but they could never prove it."

Melissa nearly dropped her hamburger on the floor. "What the hell? He hits his students?"

"Every student in that school that day knew he did it. All except the Authority, who couldn't care less."

"And they want to give this man your job? Are they stupid?"

"Try telling them that. You won't get far with them. Heck, no one has yet to put a dent in them, they're so stubborn. Say," Patricia continued as she took a bite of a cherry tomato, "Miss Baker said something about you interfering in something about her and Molly."

"Yeah, I was at her house. She sped past me as if she was trying to kill me. I made sure everything was okay, and I heard Molly and her screaming at each other. Baker had an answer for everything, and I don't think she was going to even let the apocalypse stop Molly from doing homework." Melissa tried to bite her tongue. She didn't know if Serena told Patricia yet about her other life. "Apparently, Miss Baker heard me and decided to get lippy with me, and she tried to slap me. That's something you don't do and get away with it."

"You sound like the no-nonsense type of woman who won't let anyone do anything to you."

"If only my conscious could match my tough words. I can be a weak person at heart."

"No, Melissa. You're not weak. I'm the one that's weak. I should be tougher about taking on the Authority." Patricia clenched her ribs after speaking.

"You all right, Miss..."

"Yeah. Some guy attacked me about a month ago. Put me in the hospital. Doctor Mesta said that I should be lucky that I'm still alive, but my ribs would sting every now and then for the next few weeks. He said it's nothing to worry about unless they hurt for too long."

'_From Hammerthor. Patricia, I'm sorry. I should've done something sooner. It's my fault those ribs are still injured._'

"Worst thing is, though, that the Authority decided to try to give me the pink slip while I was in the hospital?"

"What?"

"I came home from the hospital, and got a call from the principal telling me the bad news. He didn't want it to happen, either, but he's powerless to stop them."

Melissa took the last bite of her hamburger—which she practically inhaled into her mouth—and stared into Patricia's wandering eyes. "I don't believe that. You're tougher than I am, believe me."

"I'm having a hard time believing that."

"You are! You're fighting through what must be sheer hell with those ribs, and you're fighting for what you think is right."

"You think I'm tough because I'm working with my injury?"

"I don't think, Patricia. I know. I know how it feels to be outnumbered, and have the odds against you. But you're fighting them. Toughness is not always in physical form. You know what's best for those kids, and it damn sure isn't that asshole Harold Koa. You need to tell them that you mean business, and you need to tell them that you will not back down, and will not bow to them. You're smart, you're pretty, and you're an angel to be around. You can't let anyone dictate who you are, or how you live your life. Tell those jokers that they're trying to kick out the wrong teacher, and if they don't listen, then call them out. Let everyone know why they messed with the wrong person."

"Wow, Melissa! You're not one to mince words, are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't cuss in front of the teacher."

"No, don't worry. Heard worse. Anyway, I should get going. The recess is just about over. If you want, you can come defend me. Perhaps you should try telling them after all. If you can put Harold in his place, then I'm sure you can put the Authority in theirs."

"Thank you, Patricia, but I have to be somewhere else today. Do they continue into tomorrow?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Then I'll come tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you, Melissa." She began walking out the door when she stopped dead. "By the way, do you know Serena Sommers?"

The name struck a chord in Melissa. "Yes! Very well!"

"Is she okay? I haven't heard from her in a while."

"Yeah," Melissa said, hoping Patricia wouldn't realize she was lying. "She's just been busy lately."

"I heard about that same person who hurt me killing her cousin. Just a kid, and he had to do that."

"Who told you?"

"Darien Shields. You know him, too?"

"Yeah. Serena's one of my closest friends, and I met Darien through her." '_I'm sorry I have to lie to you, Patricia. It's the only way I know you'll won't worry about them._'

"If you see her, tell her that I'm thinking about her, and hope that she'll be okay."

"Okay, Patricia, I will when I see her."

"Thank you, Melissa. I'll talk to you later." Patricia exited the Cafe after.

"Yeah, Patricia, you're a very tough woman, believe me. I don't know too many people who could work through what you're being asked." She eyed the check that Patricia paid for before leaving. "Toughness. Dedication. You're not letting your kids down. It would be so easy for you to just give up and let them do what they want to do. But yet, you push on because you know what's important." Her eyes immediately shot open. "My friends! They need me! Why am I running away from my problems?" She jumped out of the booth and ran out the door, nearly breaking it off of its hinges.

**-xXXXXx-**

"Melvin," Melissa yelled to her communicator while running back to where she found the portal, "can you open that portal back up again?"

"You would have to climb up to that central point again. I don't have the exact spot triangulated that well yet. But yes, I should be able to open it up whenever we need it."

"But how would the others be able to get back?"

"It'll take me about twenty more minutes to get it locked in. I'll let you know if I have any issues with getting it opened unassisted after that."

"I thought you were staying here, Melissa," Artemis said.

"Me too, but they need me, and I have to face my fears head on. This is also my chance to show Metaria just how much I hate her for all the times she messed with my life. I'm just worried about what will happen if and when they trust me to handle the Hizrounswa."

"You don't think they will trust you?"

"I don't know if I trust myself with doing so yet. She's still trying to force me back, I know it. She doesn't give up that easily."

"We'll be here if she tries."

"Thank you. How's Luna?"

"It looked like she was getting better. She was walking again for a while, and she's in this room now, but she crashed on Sammy's bed and fell asleep again. I'm worried that the shot she took was worse than what it appeared to be at first."

"She can't die! We need her! We need all of you! I'm close to it. I'll let you know when I'm up there." Melissa pocketed her communicator and ran up the steps to the Hikawa Shrine.

It took her a minute to get all the way up the steps, but when she got to the top, she saw Grandpa standing there, as if he knew she was waiting for her. "Gramps!"

"Melissa. I knew you were coming. I could sense it."

"Why are you standing out here, though?"

Grandpa walked halfway towards where Melissa stood—right next to the huge oak tree at the halfway point between the steps and the Shrine—and coughed before speaking again. "I could also sense a strong presence that I cannot understand. I can sense hatred, but I do not know why it's from here."

'_He's sensing the portal generator._' "It's something that I am going to fix, Gramps."

"I also sensed great fear, which got stronger and stronger until you arrived. I can now feel it stronger than ever. You don't want to show it, but you are afraid of what you must face."

Melissa had to keep herself from choking on a sob. "Yes, Gramps. I am scared. Not just for me, but for my friends who I may endanger should something steer me down the wrong path. We got a chance to get a huge advantage over our enemy, but to do that, I might have to do something that if I still had evil intentions, I could use what I would need to touch to harm the friends I made. I don't want to take such a risk, but at the same time, I don't want to leave my friends alone."

"You're scared because of what you saw in your vision. You're scared of yourself still."

"Yes, Gramps. I am."

"Kneel down for a moment." Melissa did as she was told, and Grandpa walked up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I can tell that deep down, you're a good person, willing to do whatever it takes to keep those you love from harm. No matter what the odds are, you're willing to put your entire life and well being on the line if it means that your friends will stay alive. You want your friends to be able to trust you. However, in order to do that, you first have to lend your trust to them. You don't trust them to trust you, though I can tell you want to be able to trust them."

"That thing may try to recruit me back, though."

"That's why I wanted you to kneel. I had a feeling you had your doubts that your spirit was strong enough to withstand that. I know it is, but by showing your humility to the Shrine, you have shown that you are willing to let it lend you its strength. The power will protect you from strong entities that seek to possess those of good mind and soul. Though I doubt you will need it, this will give you even more strength. You will not know when you actually use it, and I cannot say how the Shrine's presence is able to commit such an act. This is how Raye has such a strong psychic presence. She has a strong psychic connection to this Shrine. With enough training, you will be able to have the same amount of power."

Melissa could feel something warm her from within. She couldn't understand or comprehend what it was, but it was a sensation that comforted her.

"Understand that fear is part of human nature. Fear is what warns you of danger, and will allow you to make a decision based on that danger that you sense."

"Thank you, Gramps." Melissa felt the comforting hand leave her shoulder as she rose back to her feet. "Do you mind me calling you..."

"Not at all, Melissa. You're a sincere friend to me and to the Shrine. You mean well."

Melissa's smile was quickly erased when she heard more coughs coming from her friend, though they were now stronger than before. "Gramps!"

"Melissa, don't worry about me. Go help your friends." Grandpa knelt to a knee and wheezed.

"You _are_ one of my friends, Gramps! Go get some rest, _now_!"

Grandpa could read Melissa eyes, which were sewn of terror and frustration. "Melissa..."

Melissa whipped out her communicator. "Melvin, I need you to open the portal for me."

"Will do!"

"I need you to do something else for me. Do you know who Chad is? Raye's friend that works with her at the Hikawa Shrine?"

"I know who you're talking about," Artemis answered.

"I need someone to call him and tell him to come here and watch over Gramps. I hope I'm just paranoid, but he's been coughing rather violently."

"I'll see if Ikuko knows anything about Chad and how to get in touch with him."

Melvin heard the same cough for the first time that Melissa had for the past minute, "That's not a normal cough. Sounds like..." he paused, "...never mind. I don't want to discuss it now. You need to get to that portal. I have it open for you. It'll take me ten more minutes to get a strong enough signal to open it without outside help. You should get going."

"I'll be okay, Melissa," Grandpa said. "Go on."

Melissa looked to the still coughing old man for a moment more as she began walking backwards. "Get some rest, my friend," she whispered. "There's too much I still need to know about myself." She turned around and ran down the steps.

She didn't say another word as she ran across a few streets without looking—and with a car nearly running her over—and made it to the same alleyway that she remembered the portal being at. Sure enough, as promised, she saw a purple and black swirl in a hazy rift, as if it was inviting her in.

'_Metaria,_' she thought as she stared into the abyss, '_why must you torture me so much? Why is it that you're so persistent to break free? Why do you need me to carry out your goals? Rubeus has just as much energy as I would if I put that tiara back on, so why not just take him if you want to break free? Doesn't make any sense._'

She stepped forward a few feet, still thinking, '_I'm still afraid. I don't know what is to happen. Gramps, did you mean what you said about this being human? Are you telling me that I am becoming more human by showing fear to what I do not know? I fear what could happen to me, but I also fear what could happen to them. I love them. I can't let them just face something they don't know anything about alone. Part of being human is also how you face your fears. I'm not one for running away from mine. Rubeus, you belong to me, and I will kill you if you do anything to them!_' She stepped into the portal and disappeared just as fast as the portal did behind her.

**-xXXXXx-**

Rubeus knew of this exact spot extremely well. The crater that made up the entrance to the Dark Kingdom. This was D-Point, and some miles ahead was that cabin that he made Ikuko captive for some time. He stood at the edge of the crater, the toes of his left foot extending beyond the drop-off. He looked dead at the floor and the steps that led to where he discovered what soon after became his base of operations. '_The more things change, the more they stay the same._' He looked around the barren winter wonderland of the North Pole. Though it wasn't snowing right now, it was rather cold. Though he was immune somewhat to the cold, he could still feel the air hitting his arms.

"I knew you would eventually come here, Rubeus," he heard a now very familiar female voice call out from behind him.

"Serena. Late, as always!"

"Shut up! You've tortured me for the last time."

"Why is that, huh? You're going to kill me here? Yeah, that would be so rich for you to try to do. Thing is," he continued as he pivoted on his heel to face the angered visage of his rival, "as much as you want to kill me, you need me just as badly." He saw Moon only look at him in disgust, not moving a muscle or saying a word. "I see! You don't know why. You need me to bring out the worst in you. You need me to tell you that you're somehow still needed in this world. You want to kill me, yet you can't, because without me, Sailor Moon would not need to exist, and you would be bored. I figured it out, Serena. All those times I knew you just wanted to be this normal teenage girl, worried about how cute the boys at school were the day before and if you could get laid by one of them, I also knew you wanted a reason to bring out this other side I always knew existed."

He continued to lock eyes with Moon, who still stood motionless as wind was beginning to pick up. "Not gonna say anything, huh? Don't want to believe it, do you? It's true, though. You love to be a bloodthirsty bitch. You're so tired of the same old shit day in and day out. You don't want to be the same Serena every day. You want to be something _better_. Some_one_ better! You can't stand to be Serena Sommers, the fifteen year old girl that is crazy about some boy in a tuxedo. You want to be Sailor Moon, the femme fatale that is born to fight to the death. You were born to have blood on your hands. To hell with anyone who thinks that you don't have it in you to kill someone, and like doing it. You want to kill me, but you've yet to accomplish that task. I think I told you why."

"You're wrong, Rubeus. I hate war. I hate fighting. I hate all of what I have done."

"You lie! You and I right now stand near the very spot where you murdered Queen Beryl with the Silver Crystal. Or, should I say, you thought you did. You love every second of it. You referred to her as a witch and as sleaze. I'm sure your deep, dark side wanted to kill her."

"I didn't want to do so. You think that just because I answer the need to fight, it means that I desire to? I stood on that platform a year ago because I knew that if I didn't, she was going to take over everything."

"And she won't now?"

"You still try to turn me and her against each other! After all of what you have done to me, and what you still try to do to me, you still try to bargain with me for something for some reason."

"You hate fighting, and you hate war. Yet, you chase me down to kill me?"

"You took my daughter from me, Rubeus. You've tried to kill my lover, my brother, and my guardian. My friends are off limits, and my family are even moreso. You've done the one thing no one else has done: unlocked a new side of me. It's your fault I now hunt to kill. Do you want to talk some more, or would you rather see how evil I can really be? You brag about how I love to become some sick, sadistic psycho hero, yet you only talk!"

Rubeus' feet caused the snow to crunch beneath them as he paced around Moon. He stopped at her side as he snickered, "I was waiting for you to just suddenly lunge at me like you always do. I've been waiting for this. There's nothing in our way here. No police. No Sailors. No one to keep us from killing each other. Hell, maybe that is our destiny. For us to fight until we both die. Then you and I will spend the rest of eternity in damnation together."

"You would only wish, you sick bastard!"

"That growl! _That's_ the anger I'm looking for. Come on, Serena! Let's see how much you really missed being Sailor Moon. All that time you wanted that power, and it wasn't just because you wanted to save someone. You wanted to kill. I won't make it easy on you."

"Be careful what you wish for, you idiot. You might just _get it_!"

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Please review if possible. Good night and good luck.

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